Global spatiotemporal patterns of demographic fluctuations in terrestrial vertebrates during the Late Pleistocene.

ABSTRACT: Demographic fluctuations are crucial for assessing species' threat levels, yet their global spatiotemporal patterns and historical drivers remain unknown. Here, we used single whole-genome sequence data for 527 extant and widespread terrestrial vertebrates to investigate their demographic fluctuations during the Late Pleistocene. Effective population size (N_e) simulations indicated that all taxa experienced a population decline from the Last Interglacial to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). After the LGM, birds and amphibians underwent population expansion, whereas mammals and reptiles' populations declined. Regions with high N_e shifted from Neotropical to Afrotropical and to Palearctic, some overlapping with recognized glacial refugia and biodiversity hot

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12101494 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature