Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes?
The history and palaeoecology of the steppe bison (Bison priscus) remain incompletely understood despite its widespread distribution. Using dental microwear textural analysis (DMTA) and vegetation modelling, we reconstructed the diet and assessed the habitat of steppe bison inhabiting Eurasia and Al...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:87e097a175504566b053b1a36e7305fa 2024-09-30T14:45:19+00:00 Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? Emilia Hofman-Kamińska Gildas Merceron Hervé Bocherens Gennady G. Boeskorov Oleksandra O. Krotova Albert V. Protopopov Andrei V. Shpansky Rafał Kowalczyk 2024-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240317 https://doaj.org/article/87e097a175504566b053b1a36e7305fa EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240317 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.240317 2054-5703 https://doaj.org/article/87e097a175504566b053b1a36e7305fa Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 8 (2024) Bison priscus Bb1 bison dental microwear textures diet habitat use vegetation modelling Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240317 2024-09-02T15:34:38Z The history and palaeoecology of the steppe bison (Bison priscus) remain incompletely understood despite its widespread distribution. Using dental microwear textural analysis (DMTA) and vegetation modelling, we reconstructed the diet and assessed the habitat of steppe bison inhabiting Eurasia and Alaska since the Middle Pleistocene. During the Late Pleistocene, steppe bison occupied a variety of biome types: from the mosaic of temperate summergreen forest and steppe/temperate grassland (Serbia) to the tundra biomes (Siberia and Alaska). Despite the differences in the identified biome types, the diet of steppe bison did not differ significantly among populations in Eurasia. DMTA classified it as a mixed forager in all populations studied. The DMTA of Bb1 bison—a recently identified genetically extinct sister-clade of Bison bonasus—was typical of a highly grazing bovid species and differed from all B. priscus populations. The results of the study temper the common perception that steppe bison were grazers in steppe habitats. The dietary plasticity of the steppe bison was lower when compared with modern European bison and may have played an important role in its extinction, even in the stable tundra biome of eastern Siberia, where it has survived the longest in all of Eurasia. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Alaska Siberia Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Royal Society Open Science 11 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Bison priscus Bb1 bison dental microwear textures diet habitat use vegetation modelling Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Bison priscus Bb1 bison dental microwear textures diet habitat use vegetation modelling Science Q Emilia Hofman-Kamińska Gildas Merceron Hervé Bocherens Gennady G. Boeskorov Oleksandra O. Krotova Albert V. Protopopov Andrei V. Shpansky Rafał Kowalczyk Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
topic_facet |
Bison priscus Bb1 bison dental microwear textures diet habitat use vegetation modelling Science Q |
description |
The history and palaeoecology of the steppe bison (Bison priscus) remain incompletely understood despite its widespread distribution. Using dental microwear textural analysis (DMTA) and vegetation modelling, we reconstructed the diet and assessed the habitat of steppe bison inhabiting Eurasia and Alaska since the Middle Pleistocene. During the Late Pleistocene, steppe bison occupied a variety of biome types: from the mosaic of temperate summergreen forest and steppe/temperate grassland (Serbia) to the tundra biomes (Siberia and Alaska). Despite the differences in the identified biome types, the diet of steppe bison did not differ significantly among populations in Eurasia. DMTA classified it as a mixed forager in all populations studied. The DMTA of Bb1 bison—a recently identified genetically extinct sister-clade of Bison bonasus—was typical of a highly grazing bovid species and differed from all B. priscus populations. The results of the study temper the common perception that steppe bison were grazers in steppe habitats. The dietary plasticity of the steppe bison was lower when compared with modern European bison and may have played an important role in its extinction, even in the stable tundra biome of eastern Siberia, where it has survived the longest in all of Eurasia. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emilia Hofman-Kamińska Gildas Merceron Hervé Bocherens Gennady G. Boeskorov Oleksandra O. Krotova Albert V. Protopopov Andrei V. Shpansky Rafał Kowalczyk |
author_facet |
Emilia Hofman-Kamińska Gildas Merceron Hervé Bocherens Gennady G. Boeskorov Oleksandra O. Krotova Albert V. Protopopov Andrei V. Shpansky Rafał Kowalczyk |
author_sort |
Emilia Hofman-Kamińska |
title |
Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
title_short |
Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
title_full |
Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
title_fullStr |
Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? |
title_sort |
was the steppe bison a grazing beast in pleistocene landscapes? |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240317 https://doaj.org/article/87e097a175504566b053b1a36e7305fa |
genre |
Tundra Alaska Siberia |
genre_facet |
Tundra Alaska Siberia |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 8 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240317 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.240317 2054-5703 https://doaj.org/article/87e097a175504566b053b1a36e7305fa |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240317 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1811646056759296000 |