A 2000-year record of fecal biomarkers reveals past herbivore presence and impacts in a catchment in northern Yellowstone National Park, USA.

ABSTRACT: Molecular biomarkers preserved in lake sediments are increasingly used to develop records of past organism occurrence. When linked with traditional paleoecological methods, analysis of molecular biomarkers can yield new insights into the roles of herbivores and other animals in long-term ecosystem dynamics. We sought to determine whether fecal steroids in lake sediments could be used to reconstruct past ungulate use and dominant taxa in a small catchment in northern Yellowstone National Park. To do so, we characterized the fecal steroid profiles of a selection of North American ungulates historically present in the Yellowstone region (bison, elk, moose, mule deer, and pronghorn) and compared them with those of sediments from a small lake in the Yellowstone Northern Range. Analysis of a set

SUBMITTER: Wendt JAF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11524497 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature