A 2-million-year-old ecosystem in Greenland uncovered by environmental DNA.

ABSTRACT: Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene epochs 3.6 to 0.8 million years ago¹ had climates resembling those forecasted under future warming². Palaeoclimatic records show strong polar amplification with mean annual temperatures of 11-19 °C above contemporary values^3,4. The biological communities inhabiting the Arctic during this time remain poorly known because fossils are rare⁵. Here we report an ancient environmental DNA⁶ (eDNA) record describing the rich plant and animal assemblages of the Kap København Formation in North Greenland, dated to around two million years ago. The record shows an open boreal forest ecosystem with mixed vegetation of poplar, birch and thuja trees, as well as a variety of Arctic and boreal shrubs and herbs, many

SUBMITTER: Kjær KH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9729109 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature