GENETIC STUDIES OF EXTINCTIONS IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE

Genetic material recovered from both Late Pleistocene animal and plant remains provides a unique view of extinction events through the end-Pleistocene and Holocene. Floral diversity appears to decline through the Late Pleistocene, with grasses (Poaceae) being particularly effected during and after the LGM. Correspondingly, bison populations undergo a marked decline in diversity in the period immediately prior to the LGM, although isolated groups survive to the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary and beyond. Along with existing genetic data on brown bears, this preliminary view indicates that climate change was a major factor in the megafaunal extinctions. The study of genetic information preserved in both bones and soil promises to allow a fine-scale view of these processes in the near future.