Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet

Eske Willerslev; John Davison; Mari Moora; Martin Zobel; Eric Coissac; Mary E. Edwards; Eline D. Lorenzen; Mette Vestergård; Galina Gussarova; James Haile; Joseph Craine; Ludovic Gielly; Sanne Boessenkool; Laura S. Epp; Peter B. Pearman; Rachid Cheddadi; David Murray; Kari Anne Bråthen; Nigel Yoccoz; Heather Binney; Corinne Cruaud; Patrick Wincker; Tomasz Goslar; Inger Greve Alsos; Eva Bellemain; Anne Krag Brysting; Reidar Elven; Jørn Henrik Sønstebø; Julian Murton; Andrei Sher; Morten Rasmussen; Regin Rønn; Tobias Mourier; Alan Cooper; Jeremy Austin; Per Möller; Duane Froese; Grant Zazula; François Pompanon; Delphine Rioux; Vincent Niderkorn; Alexei Tikhonov; Grigoriy Savvinov; Richard G. Roberts; Ross D.E. Macphee; M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Kurt H. Kjær; Ludovic Orlando; Christian Brochmann; Pierre Taberlet

doi:10.1038/nature12921

Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet

Eske Willerslev^*, John Davison, Mari Moora, Martin Zobel, Eric Coissac, Mary E. Edwards, Eline D. Lorenzen, Mette Vestergård, Galina Gussarova, James Haile, Joseph Craine, Ludovic Gielly, Sanne Boessenkool, Laura S. Epp, Peter B. Pearman, Rachid Cheddadi, David Murray, Kari Anne Bråthen, Nigel Yoccoz, Heather BinneyCorinne Cruaud, Patrick Wincker, Tomasz Goslar, Inger Greve Alsos, Eva Bellemain, Anne Krag Brysting, Reidar Elven, Jørn Henrik Sønstebø, Julian Murton, Andrei Sher, Morten Rasmussen, Regin Rønn, Tobias Mourier, Alan Cooper, Jeremy Austin, Per Möller, Duane Froese, Grant Zazula, François Pompanon, Delphine Rioux, Vincent Niderkorn, Alexei Tikhonov, Grigoriy Savvinov, Richard G. Roberts, Ross D.E. Macphee, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Kurt H. Kjær, Ludovic Orlando, Christian Brochmann, Pierre Taberlet

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Although it is generally agreed that the Arctic flora is among the youngest and least diverse on Earth, the processes that shaped it are poorly understood. Here we present 50 thousand years (kyr) of Arctic vegetation history, derived from the first large-scale ancient DNA metabarcoding study of circumpolar plant diversity. For this interval we also explore nematode diversity as a proxy for modelling vegetation cover and soil quality, and diets of herbivorous megafaunal mammals, many of which became extinct around 10 kyr bp (before present). For much of the period investigated, Arctic vegetation consisted of dry steppe-tundra dominated by forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants). During the Last Glacial Maximum (25-15 kyr bp), diversity declined markedly, although forbs remained dominant. Much changed after 10 kyr bp, with the appearance of moist tundra dominated by woody plants and graminoids. Our analyses indicate that both graminoids and forbs would have featured in megafaunal diets. As such, our findings question the predominance of a Late Quaternary graminoid-dominated Arctic mammoth steppe.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	47-51
Number of pages	5
Journal	NATURE
Volume	506
Issue number	7486
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12921
State	Published - 2014
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank A. Lister, R. D. Guthrie, M. Hofreiter and L. Parducci for thoughts and discussions on our findings and K. Andersen for help identifying possible contamination. We thank T. B. Brand, P. S. Olsen, V. Mirré, L. J. Gillespie, J. M. Saarela, J. Doubt, M. Lomonosova, D. Shaulo, J. E. Eriksen, S. Ickert-Bond, T. Ager, D. Bielman, M. Hajibabaei, A. Telka and S. Zimov for help and providing samples. We thank the Danish National Sequencing Centre. This work was supported by the European Union 6th framework project ECOCHANGE (GOCE-2006-036866, coordinated by P.T.), the Danish National Research Foundation (Centre of Excellence to E.W.), the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence FIBIR and IUT 20-28 to J.D., M.M. and M.Z.), the Research Council of Norway (191627/V40 to C.B.), the Australian Research Council (DP0558446 to R.G.R.), a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (PIOF-GA-2009-253376 to E.D.L.) and a Carlsberg Foundation Fellowship (to M.V.).

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Willerslev, E., Davison, J., Moora, M., Zobel, M., Coissac, E., Edwards, M. E., Lorenzen, E. D., Vestergård, M., Gussarova, G., Haile, J., Craine, J., Gielly, L., Boessenkool, S., Epp, L. S., Pearman, P. B., Cheddadi, R., Murray, D., Bråthen, K. A., Yoccoz, N., ... Taberlet, P. (2014). Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet. NATURE, 506(7486), 47-51. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12921

@article{219df222a50248bfbb7d9a5a815d7d63,

title = "Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet",

abstract = "Although it is generally agreed that the Arctic flora is among the youngest and least diverse on Earth, the processes that shaped it are poorly understood. Here we present 50 thousand years (kyr) of Arctic vegetation history, derived from the first large-scale ancient DNA metabarcoding study of circumpolar plant diversity. For this interval we also explore nematode diversity as a proxy for modelling vegetation cover and soil quality, and diets of herbivorous megafaunal mammals, many of which became extinct around 10 kyr bp (before present). For much of the period investigated, Arctic vegetation consisted of dry steppe-tundra dominated by forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants). During the Last Glacial Maximum (25-15 kyr bp), diversity declined markedly, although forbs remained dominant. Much changed after 10 kyr bp, with the appearance of moist tundra dominated by woody plants and graminoids. Our analyses indicate that both graminoids and forbs would have featured in megafaunal diets. As such, our findings question the predominance of a Late Quaternary graminoid-dominated Arctic mammoth steppe.",

author = "Eske Willerslev and John Davison and Mari Moora and Martin Zobel and Eric Coissac and Edwards, {Mary E.} and Lorenzen, {Eline D.} and Mette Vesterg{\aa}rd and Galina Gussarova and James Haile and Joseph Craine and Ludovic Gielly and Sanne Boessenkool and Epp, {Laura S.} and Pearman, {Peter B.} and Rachid Cheddadi and David Murray and Br{\aa}then, {Kari Anne} and Nigel Yoccoz and Heather Binney and Corinne Cruaud and Patrick Wincker and Tomasz Goslar and Alsos, {Inger Greve} and Eva Bellemain and Brysting, {Anne Krag} and Reidar Elven and S{\o}nsteb{\o}, {J{\o}rn Henrik} and Julian Murton and Andrei Sher and Morten Rasmussen and Regin R{\o}nn and Tobias Mourier and Alan Cooper and Jeremy Austin and Per M{\"o}ller and Duane Froese and Grant Zazula and Fran{\c c}ois Pompanon and Delphine Rioux and Vincent Niderkorn and Alexei Tikhonov and Grigoriy Savvinov and Roberts, {Richard G.} and Macphee, {Ross D.E.} and Gilbert, {M. Thomas P.} and Kj{\ae}r, {Kurt H.} and Ludovic Orlando and Christian Brochmann and Pierre Taberlet",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements We thank A. Lister, R. D. Guthrie, M. Hofreiter and L. Parducci for thoughts and discussions on our findings and K. Andersen for help identifying possible contamination. We thank T. B. Brand, P. S. Olsen, V. Mirr{\'e}, L. J. Gillespie, J. M. Saarela, J. Doubt, M. Lomonosova, D. Shaulo, J. E. Eriksen, S. Ickert-Bond, T. Ager, D. Bielman, M. Hajibabaei, A. Telka and S. Zimov for help and providing samples. We thank the Danish National Sequencing Centre. This work was supported by the European Union 6th framework project ECOCHANGE (GOCE-2006-036866, coordinated by P.T.), the Danish National Research Foundation (Centre of Excellence to E.W.), the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence FIBIR and IUT 20-28 to J.D., M.M. and M.Z.), the Research Council of Norway (191627/V40 to C.B.), the Australian Research Council (DP0558446 to R.G.R.), a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (PIOF-GA-2009-253376 to E.D.L.) and a Carlsberg Foundation Fellowship (to M.V.).",

year = "2014",

doi = "10.1038/nature12921",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "506",

pages = "47--51",

journal = "NATURE",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "7486",

}

Willerslev, E, Davison, J, Moora, M, Zobel, M, Coissac, E, Edwards, ME, Lorenzen, ED, Vestergård, M, Gussarova, G, Haile, J, Craine, J, Gielly, L, Boessenkool, S, Epp, LS, Pearman, PB, Cheddadi, R, Murray, D, Bråthen, KA, Yoccoz, N, Binney, H, Cruaud, C, Wincker, P, Goslar, T, Alsos, IG, Bellemain, E, Brysting, AK, Elven, R, Sønstebø, JH, Murton, J, Sher, A, Rasmussen, M, Rønn, R, Mourier, T, Cooper, A, Austin, J, Möller, P, Froese, D, Zazula, G, Pompanon, F, Rioux, D, Niderkorn, V, Tikhonov, A, Savvinov, G, Roberts, RG, Macphee, RDE, Gilbert, MTP, Kjær, KH, Orlando, L, Brochmann, C & Taberlet, P 2014, 'Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet', NATURE, vol. 506, no. 7486, pp. 47-51. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12921

TY - JOUR

T1 - Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet

AU - Willerslev, Eske

AU - Davison, John

AU - Moora, Mari

AU - Zobel, Martin

AU - Coissac, Eric

AU - Edwards, Mary E.

AU - Lorenzen, Eline D.

AU - Vestergård, Mette

AU - Gussarova, Galina

AU - Haile, James

AU - Craine, Joseph

AU - Gielly, Ludovic

AU - Boessenkool, Sanne

AU - Epp, Laura S.

AU - Pearman, Peter B.

AU - Cheddadi, Rachid

AU - Murray, David

AU - Bråthen, Kari Anne

AU - Yoccoz, Nigel

AU - Binney, Heather

AU - Cruaud, Corinne

AU - Wincker, Patrick

AU - Goslar, Tomasz

AU - Alsos, Inger Greve

AU - Bellemain, Eva

AU - Brysting, Anne Krag

AU - Elven, Reidar

AU - Sønstebø, Jørn Henrik

AU - Murton, Julian

AU - Sher, Andrei

AU - Rasmussen, Morten

AU - Rønn, Regin

AU - Mourier, Tobias

AU - Cooper, Alan

AU - Austin, Jeremy

AU - Möller, Per

AU - Froese, Duane

AU - Zazula, Grant

AU - Pompanon, François

AU - Rioux, Delphine

AU - Niderkorn, Vincent

AU - Tikhonov, Alexei

AU - Savvinov, Grigoriy

AU - Roberts, Richard G.

AU - Macphee, Ross D.E.

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

AU - Kjær, Kurt H.

AU - Orlando, Ludovic

AU - Brochmann, Christian

AU - Taberlet, Pierre

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements We thank A. Lister, R. D. Guthrie, M. Hofreiter and L. Parducci for thoughts and discussions on our findings and K. Andersen for help identifying possible contamination. We thank T. B. Brand, P. S. Olsen, V. Mirré, L. J. Gillespie, J. M. Saarela, J. Doubt, M. Lomonosova, D. Shaulo, J. E. Eriksen, S. Ickert-Bond, T. Ager, D. Bielman, M. Hajibabaei, A. Telka and S. Zimov for help and providing samples. We thank the Danish National Sequencing Centre. This work was supported by the European Union 6th framework project ECOCHANGE (GOCE-2006-036866, coordinated by P.T.), the Danish National Research Foundation (Centre of Excellence to E.W.), the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence FIBIR and IUT 20-28 to J.D., M.M. and M.Z.), the Research Council of Norway (191627/V40 to C.B.), the Australian Research Council (DP0558446 to R.G.R.), a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (PIOF-GA-2009-253376 to E.D.L.) and a Carlsberg Foundation Fellowship (to M.V.).

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Although it is generally agreed that the Arctic flora is among the youngest and least diverse on Earth, the processes that shaped it are poorly understood. Here we present 50 thousand years (kyr) of Arctic vegetation history, derived from the first large-scale ancient DNA metabarcoding study of circumpolar plant diversity. For this interval we also explore nematode diversity as a proxy for modelling vegetation cover and soil quality, and diets of herbivorous megafaunal mammals, many of which became extinct around 10 kyr bp (before present). For much of the period investigated, Arctic vegetation consisted of dry steppe-tundra dominated by forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants). During the Last Glacial Maximum (25-15 kyr bp), diversity declined markedly, although forbs remained dominant. Much changed after 10 kyr bp, with the appearance of moist tundra dominated by woody plants and graminoids. Our analyses indicate that both graminoids and forbs would have featured in megafaunal diets. As such, our findings question the predominance of a Late Quaternary graminoid-dominated Arctic mammoth steppe.

AB - Although it is generally agreed that the Arctic flora is among the youngest and least diverse on Earth, the processes that shaped it are poorly understood. Here we present 50 thousand years (kyr) of Arctic vegetation history, derived from the first large-scale ancient DNA metabarcoding study of circumpolar plant diversity. For this interval we also explore nematode diversity as a proxy for modelling vegetation cover and soil quality, and diets of herbivorous megafaunal mammals, many of which became extinct around 10 kyr bp (before present). For much of the period investigated, Arctic vegetation consisted of dry steppe-tundra dominated by forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants). During the Last Glacial Maximum (25-15 kyr bp), diversity declined markedly, although forbs remained dominant. Much changed after 10 kyr bp, with the appearance of moist tundra dominated by woody plants and graminoids. Our analyses indicate that both graminoids and forbs would have featured in megafaunal diets. As such, our findings question the predominance of a Late Quaternary graminoid-dominated Arctic mammoth steppe.

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U2 - 10.1038/nature12921

DO - 10.1038/nature12921

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C2 - 24499916

AN - SCOPUS:84893574514

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 506

SP - 47

EP - 51

JO - NATURE

JF - NATURE

IS - 7486

ER -

Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet

Abstract

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