ARCUS 14th Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum 2002

Using permafrost DNA to examine the effects of environmental change

Alan Cooper^1
1Department of Zoology, Oxford University, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX26UE, UK, Phone 44-1865-271263, Fax 44-1865-271249, alan.cooper@zoo.ox.ac.uk

The Arctic contains many detailed paleoenvironmental records, with important implications for the interpretation of current changes in climate, biodiversity, and human impact. Recent molecular studies have revealed a further record – an Ice Age genetic museum preserved in vast numbers of mammal bones from permafrost deposits. These remains provide an opportunity to examine the genetic effects of climate change throughout the last glacial period (>60-10 Kyr), human invasion of the New World (ca. 13 Kyr), and the megafaunal mass extinction (ca. 11 Kyr) – examples of three major evolutionary phenomena seen throughout the fossil record.

Studies of permafrost DNA from several megafaunal groups (brown bears, bison, American lions) have revealed extremely dynamic population histories – characterised by localised extinctions, rapid replacements, and evidence of a strongly mosaic environment. Climate change appears to have the most significant effect on bear biodiversity, but is mediated through secondary interactions with other environmental factors. By comparing genetic data from a range of species, it should be possible to reconstruct a detailed paleoenvironmental picture for Beringia over the past 60,000 years.

This combination of paleo-genetic, -morphological, -climatic, and -ecological data provides a powerful means to examine the effects of past environmental events, and predict the impact of current changes.

This presentation is based on: Barnes, I., P. Matheus, B. Shapiro, D. Jensen, A. Cooper. (2002) Dynamics of Pleistcene Population Extinctions in Beringian Brown Bears. Science 295:2267-2270. More information can also be found at http://evolve.zoo.ox.ac.uk/.

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