Serial population extinctions in a small mammal indicate Late Pleistocene ecosystem instability.

ABSTRACT: The Late Pleistocene global extinction of many terrestrial mammal species has been a subject of intensive scientific study for over a century, yet the relative contributions of environmental changes and the global expansion of humans remain unresolved. A defining component of these extinctions is a bias toward large species, with the majority of small-mammal taxa apparently surviving into the present. Here, we investigate the population-level history of a key tundra-specialist small mammal, the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus), to explore whether events during the Late Pleistocene had a discernible effect beyond the large mammal fauna. Using ancient DNA techniques to sample across three sites in North-West Europe, we observe a dramatic reduction in genetic diversity in this species

SUBMITTER: Brace S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3528586 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature