Topic
Steppe bison
About: Steppe bison is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 58 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3028 citations. The topic is also known as: Bison priscus.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
University of Oxford1, Douglas College2, University of Alaska Fairbanks3, Russian Academy of Sciences4, University College London5, University of Copenhagen6, Simon Fraser University7, University of Alberta8, Royal British Columbia Museum9, Bureau of Land Management10, University of Kansas11, Alaska Department of Fish and Game12, American Museum of Natural History13
TL;DR: A detailed genetic history of bison throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs is reconstructed using ancient DNA and Bayesian techniques to reconstruct a large diverse population living throughout Beringia until around 37,000 years before the present, when the population's genetic diversity began to decline dramatically.
Abstract: The widespread extinctions of large mammals at the end of the Pleistocene epoch have often been attributed to the depredations of humans; here we present genetic evidence that questions this assumption. We used ancient DNA and Bayesian techniques to reconstruct a detailed genetic history of bison throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. Our analyses depict a large diverse population living throughout Beringia until around 37,000 years before the present, when the population's genetic diversity began to decline dramatically. The timing of this decline correlates with environmental changes associated with the onset of the last glacial cycle, whereas archaeological evidence does not support the presence of large populations of humans in Eastern Beringia until more than 15,000 years later.
705 citations
University of Copenhagen1, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute2, University of Utah3, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems4, University of California, Berkeley5, University of Sydney6, Texas A&M University7, Missouri State University8, Uppsala University9, Spanish National Research Council10, University of California, Los Angeles11, University of Alberta12, Mount Holyoke College13, University of Leeds14, University of Bristol15, Russian Academy of Sciences16, University of Oregon17, Moscow State University18, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)19, University of Kansas20, National Park Service21, American Museum of Natural History22, Aarhus University23, Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart24, University of Kiel25, University of Oslo26, University of Adelaide27, University of York28, Pennsylvania State University29
TL;DR: It is shown that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years, however, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment.
Abstract: Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.
697 citations
Book•
15 Oct 1989
TL;DR: Guthrie used information gleaned from his study of Blue Babe to provide a broad picture of bison evolutionary history and ecology, including speculations on the interactions of bisons and Ice Age peoples as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Frozen mammals of the Ice Age, preserved for millennia in the tundra, have been a source of fascination and mystery since their first discovery over two centuries ago. These mummies, their ecology, and their preservation are the subject of this compelling book by paleontologist Dale Guthrie. The 1979 find of a frozen, extinct steppe bison in an Alaskan gold mine allowed him to undertake the first scientific excavation of an Ice Age mummy in North America and to test theories about these enigmatic frozen fauna. The 36,000-year-old bison mummy, coated with blue mineral crystals, was dubbed "Blue Babe." Guthrie conveys the excitement of its excavation and shows how he made use of evidence from living animals, other Pleistocene mummies, Paleolithic art, and geological data. With photographs and scoresof detailed drawings, he takes the reader through the excavation and subsequent detective work, analyzing the animal's carcass and its surroundings, the circumstances of its death, its appearance in life, the landscape it inhabited, and the processes of preservation by freezing. His examination shows that Blue Babe died in early winter, falling prey to lions that inhabited the Arctic during the Pleistocene era. Guthrie uses information gleaned from his study of Blue Babe to provide a broad picture of bison evolutionary history and ecology, including speculations on the interactions of bison and Ice Age peoples. His description of the Mammoth Steppe as a cold, dry, grassy plain is based on an entirely new way of reading the fossil record."
375 citations
TL;DR: The phylogenetic analyses indicate that the diversity of cave bears was greater than previously believed, and that they could survive in a much wider range of ecological conditions than previously assumed.
Abstract: Until recently, cave bears were believed to have only inhabited Europe. However, recent morphological evidence suggests that cave bears' geographic range extended as far east as Transbaikalia, Eastern Siberia. These Asian cave bears were morphologically distinct from European cave bears. However, how they related to European lineages remains unclear, stressing the need to assess the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationship between Asian cave bears and their European relatives. In this work, we address this issue using a 227 base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region obtained from nine fossil bone samples from eight sites from the Urals, Caucasus, Altai Mountains, Ukraine and Yana River region in Eastern Siberia. Results of the phylogenetic analyses indicate that (i) the cave bear from the Yana River is most closely related to cave bears from the Caucasus region; (ii) the Caucasus/Yana group of bears is genetically very distinct from both European cave bears and brown bears, suggesting that these bears could represent an independent species; and (iii) the Western European cave bear lineage reached at least temporarily to the Altai Mountains, 7000 km east of their known centre of distribution. These results suggest that the diversity of cave bears was greater than previously believed, and that they could survive in a much wider range of ecological conditions than previously assumed. They also agree with recent studies on other extinct and extant species, such as wolves, hyenas and steppe bison, which have also revealed higher genetic and ecological diversity in Pleistocene populations than previously known.
106 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
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| 2021 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2016 | 6 |