Life and extinction of megafauna in the ice-age Arctic #MMPMID26578776
Mann DH; Groves P; Reanier RE; Gaglioti BV; Kunz ML; Shapiro B
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015[Nov]; 112 (46): 14301-6 PMID26578776show ga
Understanding species extinction is a major concern today, and past extinctions provide valuable lessons. Numerous mammal species became extinct in the Arctic at the end of the ice age, but it is unclear why. By comparing numbers of dated bones with climate records, we find that megafaunal species, like mammoth, horse, and bison, experienced boom and bust cycles during the ice age as they tracked rapid climate changes. For these species to persist, long-distance dispersal was necessary. Their extinction on the North Slope occurred as the ice age ended, because rising sea level severed dispersal routes and spreading peat simultaneously degraded range quality. This finding suggests that arctic mammals can be resilient to environmental changes but only if their habitats remain widely interconnected.
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Proc+Natl+Acad+Sci+U+S+A 2015 ; 112 (46): 14301-6
