Wetlands in the Pleistocene Steppe-Tundra Landscapes of Beringia, Their Insects, and the Role of Aeolian Sedimentation

• Published in: Water
• Main Author: Svetlana Kuzmina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: aquatic; riparian; beetles; loess; paleosol; permafrost; Hydraulic engineering; TC1-978; Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes; TD201-500; Yukon; Ice; Tundra; Beringia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/w15030494; https://doaj.org/article/06a155815d544f639d13ac21965b19ae

Analysis of the database of Beringian subfossil insect assemblages showed a relatively low role of aquatic, riparian, and wetland species of insects with hard exoskeleton in the Pleistocene communities and an increase in their proportions and taxonomic diversity in the Holocene. Aquatic insects were represented in all types of geological deposits and in some paleosols, but their proportions varied in different depositional environments. Poor representation of aquatic insects and a lack of freshwater invertebrates in the Late Pleistocene ice-rich deposits of Beringia called Siberian Yedoma or Yukon Muck attest to the predominantly aeolian origin of this phenomenon.