Ancient DNA shows high faunal diversity in the Lesser Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene

Mariya Antonosyan; Frederik V. Seersholm; Alicia C. Grealy; Milo Barham; Daniel Werndly; Ashot Margaryan; Agata Cieślik; Thomas W. Stafford; Morten E. Allentoft; Michael Bunce; Levon Yepiskoposyan

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.012

Ancient DNA shows high faunal diversity in the Lesser Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene

Mariya Antonosyan^*, Frederik V. Seersholm, Alicia C. Grealy, Milo Barham, Daniel Werndly, Ashot Margaryan, Agata Cieślik, Thomas W. Stafford, Morten E. Allentoft, Michael Bunce, Levon Yepiskoposyan

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, we explore the Late Pleistocene (LP) vertebrate faunal diversity in south-eastern Lesser Caucasus based on morphological and genetic identification of fossil bones from Karin Tak cave. For the first time in this under-studied region, we used a bulk bone metabarcoding genetic approach to complement traditional morphology-based taxonomic identifications that are hampered by highly fragmented fossil bones. Excellent ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation allowed for a successful species identification of many bone remains and improved paleoenvironmental interpretations for the region. The aDNA identification of fossil bones revealed a high diversity of animal taxa inhabiting the region between ca. > 42,000 and 25,683–24,803 calibrated years before present (cal. BP).

Original language	English
Journal	Quaternary Science Reviews
Volume	219
Pages (from-to)	102-111
Number of pages	10
ISSN	0277-3791
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.012
Publication status	Published - 2019

Keywords

Ancient DNA
Biodiversity
Bulk bone metabarcoding
Karin tak cave
Late pleistocene
Lesser Caucasus
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

Access to Document

10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.012

Cite this

Ancient DNA shows high faunal diversity in the Lesser Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene. / Antonosyan, Mariya; Seersholm, Frederik V.; Grealy, Alicia C.; Barham, Milo; Werndly, Daniel; Margaryan, Ashot; Cieślik, Agata; Stafford, Thomas W.; Allentoft, Morten E.; Bunce, Michael; Yepiskoposyan, Levon.

In: Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 219, 2019, p. 102-111.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Antonosyan, Mariya ; Seersholm, Frederik V. ; Grealy, Alicia C. ; Barham, Milo ; Werndly, Daniel ; Margaryan, Ashot ; Cieślik, Agata ; Stafford, Thomas W. ; Allentoft, Morten E. ; Bunce, Michael ; Yepiskoposyan, Levon. / Ancient DNA shows high faunal diversity in the Lesser Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene. In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 2019 ; Vol. 219. pp. 102-111.

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title = "Ancient DNA shows high faunal diversity in the Lesser Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene",

abstract = "In this study, we explore the Late Pleistocene (LP) vertebrate faunal diversity in south-eastern Lesser Caucasus based on morphological and genetic identification of fossil bones from Karin Tak cave. For the first time in this under-studied region, we used a bulk bone metabarcoding genetic approach to complement traditional morphology-based taxonomic identifications that are hampered by highly fragmented fossil bones. Excellent ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation allowed for a successful species identification of many bone remains and improved paleoenvironmental interpretations for the region. The aDNA identification of fossil bones revealed a high diversity of animal taxa inhabiting the region between ca. > 42,000 and 25,683–24,803 calibrated years before present (cal. BP).",

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AU - Seersholm, Frederik V.

AU - Grealy, Alicia C.

AU - Barham, Milo

AU - Werndly, Daniel

AU - Margaryan, Ashot

AU - Cieślik, Agata

AU - Stafford, Thomas W.

AU - Allentoft, Morten E.

AU - Bunce, Michael

AU - Yepiskoposyan, Levon

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AB - In this study, we explore the Late Pleistocene (LP) vertebrate faunal diversity in south-eastern Lesser Caucasus based on morphological and genetic identification of fossil bones from Karin Tak cave. For the first time in this under-studied region, we used a bulk bone metabarcoding genetic approach to complement traditional morphology-based taxonomic identifications that are hampered by highly fragmented fossil bones. Excellent ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation allowed for a successful species identification of many bone remains and improved paleoenvironmental interpretations for the region. The aDNA identification of fossil bones revealed a high diversity of animal taxa inhabiting the region between ca. > 42,000 and 25,683–24,803 calibrated years before present (cal. BP).

KW - Ancient DNA

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Bulk bone metabarcoding

KW - Karin tak cave

KW - Late pleistocene

KW - Lesser Caucasus

KW - Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

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DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.012

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SP - 102

EP - 111

JO - Quaternary Science Reviews

JF - Quaternary Science Reviews

SN - 0277-3791

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