A 75,000-y-old Scandinavian Arctic cave deposit reveals past faunal diversity and paleoenvironment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Walker, Samuel J.; Boilard, Aurelie; Henriksen, Mona; Lord, Edana; Robu, Marius; Buylaert, Jan - Pieter; Beijersbergen, Liselotte M. Takken; Halvorsen, Lene Synnove; Cintron, Adriana M.; Onshuus, Emma Katrin; Cockerill, Christopher Alan; Ujvari, Gabor; Palcsu, Laszlo; Temovski, Marjan; Maccali, Jenny; Linge, Henriette; Olsen, Jesper; Aksnes, Sverre; Bertheussen, Anastasia; Lygre, Ola; Alsos, Inger G.; Dalen, Love; Star, Bastiaan; Hufthammer, Anne Karin; van Kolfschoten, Thijs; Lauritzen, Stein- Erik; Lodoen, Trond Klungseth; Boessenkool, Sanne
• 署名单位: University of Oslo; Bournemouth University; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Swedish Museum of Natural History; Stockholm University; Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology; University of Bucharest; Technical University of Denmark; University of Bergen; HUN-REN; HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy & Earth Sciences; Institute for Geological & Geochemical Research - HAS; HUN-REN; HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research; University of Bergen; University of Bergen; Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research; University of Bergen; Aarhus University; University of Bergen; UiT The Arctic University of Tromso; Swedish Museum of Natural History; Leiden University; Leiden University - Excl LUMC; Shandong University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10980
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415008122
• 发表日期: 2025-08-12
• 关键词: late-pleistocene; polar bear; reconstruction; stratigraphy; multidisciplinary; sedimentation; glaciations; environment; vegetation; dates

摘要

During the last glacial period (similar to 118 to 11.7 ka), the Arctic has been characterized by a major redistribution of flora and fauna as a consequence of extreme climatic fluctuations, with associated glacial advances and retreats, sea-level changes, and shifting sea ice extent. In the high-latitude regions of Northern Europe that are currently subject to rapid climate warming, we lack a comprehensive understanding of faunal biodiversity in the last glacial period due to the extreme rarity of preserved organic remains. Here, we present a stratified sediment deposit with a diverse faunal composition preserved in a bone-bearing layer in Arne Qvamgrotta, part of the Storsteinhola cave system (68.10 degrees N 16.38 degrees E) in Northern Norway. Chronological analyses of sediments and bones including radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, uranium-thorium, and phylogenetic dating place the faunal assemblage in Marine Isotope Stage 5a (MIS 5a, Odderade interstadial, similar to 85 to 71 ka). Combining comparative osteology and bulk-bone metabarcoding, we identify 46 taxa, including mammals, birds, and fish, with several species not previously found in Fennoscandia. The fauna implies a nonanalogous cold-adapted coastal community, with close proximity to sea ice and nearby freshwater bodies. Mitogenome analyses of a subset of taxa identify extinct lineages which attest to a lack of habitat tracking and the absence of a local refugium during the subsequent fully glaciated periods. This faunal record demonstrates long-term faunal dynamics and coastal environmental conditions during MIS 5a in the European Arctic.