Palaeoecological implications of rodents as proxies for the Late Pleistocene-Holocene environmental and climatic changes in northeastern Iberia

Rodents are among the most useful proxies for reconstructing the ecology and environment of the Quaternary. The present paper focuses on a series of fossil rodent assemblages from northeastern Iberia of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 128-11.7 ka BP) and the beginning of the Holocene (< 11.7 ka BP). De...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comptes Rendus Palevol
Main Authors: FERNANDEZ GARCIA, Monica, López García, Juan Manuel, Lorenzo, Carlos
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Late Glacial Maximum
Middle Palaeolithic
MIS 2
Palaeoenvironment
Rodentia
Upper Palaeolithic
Paleontology
Microtus arvalis
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2370928
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.08.005
http://www.elsevier.com
Description
Summary:Rodents are among the most useful proxies for reconstructing the ecology and environment of the Quaternary. The present paper focuses on a series of fossil rodent assemblages from northeastern Iberia of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 128-11.7 ka BP) and the beginning of the Holocene (< 11.7 ka BP). Descriptive and multivariate statistical methods have been applied to expand what is known about the species involved and their palaeoecological implications. The results show the importance of the three predominant species: Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis and Apodemus sylvaticus. A transition in the ecological conditions is shown in the studied area during the course of this interval: from open environments and cooler climatic conditions to more forested landscapes and temperate conditions. The beginning of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene share similarities, and both differ clearly from the end of the Late Pleistocene, showing the singular nature of the environmental conditions of Marine Isotope Stage 2 in the northeastern sector of the Iberian Peninsula.

Similar Items