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Alsos IG, Boussange V, Rijal DP, Beaulieu M, Brown AG, Herzschuh U, Svenning JC, Pellissier L. Using ancient sedimentary DNA to forecast ecosystem trajectories under climate change. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230017. [PMID: 38583481 PMCID: PMC10999269 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem response to climate change is complex. In order to forecast ecosystem dynamics, we need high-quality data on changes in past species abundance that can inform process-based models. Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has revolutionised our ability to document past ecosystems' dynamics. It provides time series of increased taxonomic resolution compared to microfossils (pollen, spores), and can often give species-level information, especially for past vascular plant and mammal abundances. Time series are much richer in information than contemporary spatial distribution information, which have been traditionally used to train models for predicting biodiversity and ecosystem responses to climate change. Here, we outline the potential contribution of sedaDNA to forecast ecosystem changes. We showcase how species-level time series may allow quantification of the effect of biotic interactions in ecosystem dynamics, and be used to estimate dispersal rates when a dense network of sites is available. By combining palaeo-time series, process-based models, and inverse modelling, we can recover the biotic and abiotic processes underlying ecosystem dynamics, which are traditionally very challenging to characterise. Dynamic models informed by sedaDNA can further be used to extrapolate beyond current dynamics and provide robust forecasts of ecosystem responses to future climate change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inger Greve Alsos
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Victor Boussange
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Dilli Prasad Rijal
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Marieke Beaulieu
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Antony Gavin Brown
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ulrike Herzschuh
- Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Telegraphenberg A43, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography, Potsdam University, 14479 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) & Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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Rowe AG, Bataille CP, Baleka S, Combs EA, Crass BA, Fisher DC, Ghosh S, Holmes CE, Krasinski KE, Lanoë F, Murchie TJ, Poinar H, Potter B, Rasic JT, Reuther J, Smith GM, Spaleta KJ, Wygal BT, Wooller MJ. A female woolly mammoth's lifetime movements end in an ancient Alaskan hunter-gatherer camp. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk0818. [PMID: 38232155 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk0818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Woolly mammoths in mainland Alaska overlapped with the region's first people for at least a millennium. However, it is unclear how mammoths used the space shared with people. Here, we use detailed isotopic analyses of a female mammoth tusk found in a 14,000-year-old archaeological site to show that she moved ~1000 kilometers from northwestern Canada to inhabit an area with the highest density of early archaeological sites in interior Alaska until her death. DNA from the tusk and other local contemporaneous archaeological mammoth remains revealed that multiple mammoth herds congregated in this region. Early Alaskans seem to have structured their settlements partly based on mammoth prevalence and made use of mammoths for raw materials and likely food.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey G Rowe
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
- Department of Marine Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Clement P Bataille
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sina Baleka
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Barbara A Crass
- University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Daniel C Fisher
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Sambit Ghosh
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Charles E Holmes
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | | | - François Lanoë
- Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Tyler J Murchie
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Hakai Institute, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Hendrik Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Departments of Biochemistry and Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ben Potter
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | | | - Joshua Reuther
- University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Gerad M Smith
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, University of Alaska Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Karen J Spaleta
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Brian T Wygal
- Department of Anthropology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
| | - Matthew J Wooller
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
- Department of Marine Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, USA
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