Centre for GeoGenetics, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Nature. 2011 Nov 2;479(7373):359-64. doi: 10.1038/nature10574.
Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.
尽管经过了几十年的研究，但在第四纪晚期，气候和人类在驱动大型哺乳动物的剧烈灭绝方面所起的作用仍然存在争议。在这里，我们利用古 DNA、物种分布模型和人类化石记录来阐明气候和人类如何塑造了猛犸象、披毛犀、野马、驯鹿、野牛和麝香牛的种群历史。我们表明，在过去的 50000 年中，气候一直是人口变化的主要驱动因素。然而，每个物种对气候变化、栖息地再分配和人类侵占的影响的反应都不同。尽管气候变化本身可以解释一些物种的灭绝，如欧亚麝香牛和披毛犀，但气候和人为因素的综合影响似乎是导致其他物种灭绝的原因，包括欧亚草原野牛和野马。我们没有发现遗传特征或任何明显的范围动态来区分已灭绝和幸存的物种，这强调了预测现存哺乳动物对气候和人类介导的栖息地变化的未来反应所面临的挑战。
