Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe
Abstract During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the dominant mammoth steppe ecosystem across northern Eurasia vanished, in parallel with megafauna extinctions. However, plant extinction patterns are rarely detected due to lack of identifiable fossil records. Here, we introduce a method for dete...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832594535710982144 |
|---|---|
| author | Jérémy Courtin Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring Simeon Lisovski Ying Liu Inger Greve Alsos Boris K. Biskaborn Bernhard Diekmann Martin Melles Bernd Wagner Luidmila Pestryakova James Russell Yongsong Huang Ulrike Herzschuh |
| author_facet | Jérémy Courtin Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring Simeon Lisovski Ying Liu Inger Greve Alsos Boris K. Biskaborn Bernhard Diekmann Martin Melles Bernd Wagner Luidmila Pestryakova James Russell Yongsong Huang Ulrike Herzschuh |
| author_sort | Jérémy Courtin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the dominant mammoth steppe ecosystem across northern Eurasia vanished, in parallel with megafauna extinctions. However, plant extinction patterns are rarely detected due to lack of identifiable fossil records. Here, we introduce a method for detection of plant taxa loss at regional (extirpation) to potentially global scale (extinction) and their causes, as determined from ancient plant DNA metabarcoding in sediment cores (sedaDNA) from lakes in Siberia and Alaska over the past 28,000 years. Overall, potential plant extinctions track changes in temperature, in vegetation, and in megafauna extinctions at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Estimated potential plant extinction rates were 1.7–5.9 extinctions per million species years (E/MSY), above background extinction rates but below modern estimates. Major potential plant extinction events were detected around 17,000 and 9000 years ago which lag maximum vegetation turnover. Our results indicate that herbaceous taxa and taxa contributing less to beta diversity are more vulnerable to extinction. While the robustness of the estimates will increase as DNA reference libraries and ancient sedaDNA data expand, the available data support that plants are more resilient to environmental changes than mammals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-27fe2e33ae3d41bf8b21bab14e12d4a6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-27fe2e33ae3d41bf8b21bab14e12d4a62025-01-19T12:30:56ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111610.1038/s41467-024-55542-xPotential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppeJérémy Courtin0Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring1Simeon Lisovski2Ying Liu3Inger Greve Alsos4Boris K. Biskaborn5Bernhard Diekmann6Martin Melles7Bernd Wagner8Luidmila Pestryakova9James Russell10Yongsong Huang11Ulrike Herzschuh12Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchThe Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT - The Arctic University of NorwayPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchInstitute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of CologneInstitute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of CologneInstitute of Natural Sciences, North-Eastern Federal University of YakutskDepartment of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown UniversityDepartment of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown UniversityPolar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchAbstract During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the dominant mammoth steppe ecosystem across northern Eurasia vanished, in parallel with megafauna extinctions. However, plant extinction patterns are rarely detected due to lack of identifiable fossil records. Here, we introduce a method for detection of plant taxa loss at regional (extirpation) to potentially global scale (extinction) and their causes, as determined from ancient plant DNA metabarcoding in sediment cores (sedaDNA) from lakes in Siberia and Alaska over the past 28,000 years. Overall, potential plant extinctions track changes in temperature, in vegetation, and in megafauna extinctions at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Estimated potential plant extinction rates were 1.7–5.9 extinctions per million species years (E/MSY), above background extinction rates but below modern estimates. Major potential plant extinction events were detected around 17,000 and 9000 years ago which lag maximum vegetation turnover. Our results indicate that herbaceous taxa and taxa contributing less to beta diversity are more vulnerable to extinction. While the robustness of the estimates will increase as DNA reference libraries and ancient sedaDNA data expand, the available data support that plants are more resilient to environmental changes than mammals.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x |
| spellingShingle | Jérémy Courtin Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring Simeon Lisovski Ying Liu Inger Greve Alsos Boris K. Biskaborn Bernhard Diekmann Martin Melles Bernd Wagner Luidmila Pestryakova James Russell Yongsong Huang Ulrike Herzschuh Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe Nature Communications |
| title | Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| title_full | Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| title_fullStr | Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| title_short | Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| title_sort | potential plant extinctions with the loss of the pleistocene mammoth steppe |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeremycourtin potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT kathleenrstoofleichsenring potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT simeonlisovski potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT yingliu potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT ingergrevealsos potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT boriskbiskaborn potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT bernharddiekmann potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT martinmelles potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT berndwagner potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT luidmilapestryakova potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT jamesrussell potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT yongsonghuang potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe AT ulrikeherzschuh potentialplantextinctionswiththelossofthepleistocenemammothsteppe |