10 Extinctions and Speciation During the Quaternary
Friday, 25 July 2003
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
GENETIC STUDIES OF EXTINCTIONS IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE
Paper number: 10-4
Program: SYMPOSIA
Time: 8:50 AM – 9:10 AM
Authors
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Alan Cooper Presenting AuthorHenry Wellcome Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Univ of Oxford, Oxford, N/A
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Beth ShapiroHenry Wellcome Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Oxford, N/A
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Eske WillerslevHenry Wellcome Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Univ of Oxford, Oxford, N/A
Abstract
Genetic material recovered from both Late Pleistocene animal and plant remains provides a unique view of extinction events through the end-Pleistocene and Holocene. Floral diversity appears to decline through the Late Pleistocene, with grasses (Poaceae) being particularly effected during and after the LGM. Correspondingly, bison populations undergo a marked decline in diversity in the period immediately prior to the LGM, although isolated groups survive to the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary and beyond. Along with existing genetic data on brown bears, this preliminary view indicates that climate change was a major factor in the megafaunal extinctions. The study of genetic information preserved in both bones and soil promises to allow a fine-scale view of these processes in the near future.