No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The role of birds in Late Pleistocene Eurosiberian-Mediterranean boundary reconstructions in Western Europe
Abstract
Birds have been considered good climate indicators in Pleistocene environmental reconstructions, due to their current distribution and specific ecological requirements. They have been analyzed as associations and in some cases also as indicator species for the climate during the Late Pleistocene, which is a stage that shows strong climatic fluctuations. In this work we present an analysis of the relative abundances of thirty-three of these indicator species of Aves in Late Pleistocene Western European sites, in order to characterize the avian associations and bird species behavior, and also shed light on the corresponding ecosystems of the different geographical areas of Europe during this stage. Our analysis reveals four main groups of sites, which correspond mainly to the current biome distribution. Nevertheless, the position of some sites in the analysis is markedly different, revealing a drift southward of the Eurosiberian-Mediterranean boundary during the Late Pleistocene. The results also allow us to analyze the behavior of the various species, whose distributions seem to be controlled by the predominant vegetation in each area more than by the temperature. The different associations of each area suggest that Central Europe was forested or at least point to the presence of forest patches in this area at the end of the Pleistocene. They also reveal the need for avian association analysis instead of the use of isolated bird species to produce landscape and climate reconstructions.
Supplementary resource (1)
... Pleistocene birds have previously been used in quantitative (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018, 2021, 2022Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 2021;Cruz et al., 2023) and qualitative Steadman and Franklin, 2017) paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the Neotropics. Birds can provide valuable paleoclimate information (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018), as they are affected by the summer temperature and precipitation (Pearce-Higgins et al., 2015), and birds are good proxies to inferred habitat changes in Quaternary sites (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2021, 2022. ...
... Pleistocene birds have previously been used in quantitative (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018, 2021, 2022Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 2021;Cruz et al., 2023) and qualitative Steadman and Franklin, 2017) paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the Neotropics. Birds can provide valuable paleoclimate information (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018), as they are affected by the summer temperature and precipitation (Pearce-Higgins et al., 2015), and birds are good proxies to inferred habitat changes in Quaternary sites (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2021, 2022. However, they are not a good indicator of MTWM and MTCM, and their high vagility and phenotypic plasticity make birds a problematic proxy since they can respond rapidly to environmental changes (Jonzén et al., 2006;Charmantier et al., 2008;Youngflesh et al., 2021;McLean et al., 2022). ...
... Pleistocene birds have previously been used in quantitative (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018, 2021, 2022Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 2021;Cruz et al., 2023) and qualitative Steadman and Franklin, 2017) paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the Neotropics. Birds can provide valuable paleoclimate information (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018), as they are affected by the summer temperature and precipitation (Pearce-Higgins et al., 2015), and birds are good proxies to inferred habitat changes in Quaternary sites (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2021, 2022. ...
... Pleistocene birds have previously been used in quantitative (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018, 2021, 2022Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 2021;Cruz et al., 2023) and qualitative Steadman and Franklin, 2017) paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the Neotropics. Birds can provide valuable paleoclimate information (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018), as they are affected by the summer temperature and precipitation (Pearce-Higgins et al., 2015), and birds are good proxies to inferred habitat changes in Quaternary sites (Nuñez-Lahuerta et al., 2021, 2022. However, they are not a good indicator of MTWM and MTCM, and their high vagility and phenotypic plasticity make birds a problematic proxy since they can respond rapidly to environmental changes (Jonzén et al., 2006;Charmantier et al., 2008;Youngflesh et al., 2021;McLean et al., 2022). ...
... The collection of birds found in level VIII (CP) consists of 405 remains, predominantly corvids (58% of the NISP), and in particular choughs (36%), of which Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax is the main taxon. The composition is similar to that of other contemporary Cantabrian sites (Elorza, 1990;Moreno-García, 2017;Núñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018). The species identified still inhabit this area today, with exception of Lagopus lagopus, which is now confined to northern Europe (Lagerholm et al., 2017). ...
... Although its presence in Llonin may suggest there would have been a colder climate, it is a taxon that would have been almost cosmopolitan throughout the Upper Pleistocene (Tyrberg, 2007) and is poorly represented at the site. The remainder of the collection is typical of the upper Pleistocene in northern parts of the Iberian Peninsula, with a predominance of Pyrrhocorax (Núñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018). No anthropogenic modifications have been observed, although some remains show signs of other predators. ...
This paper presents a study of the macromammalian fauna recovered from Mousterian levels of Llonin Cave. The sample is highly heterogeneous and comprises six species of ungulates, including Rupicapra pyrenaica, Capra pyrenaica, and Cervus elaphus, and seven species of carnivores, predominantly Ursus spelaeus, Crocuta spelaea, Canis/Cuon and Panthera pardus. The archaeozoological and taphonomic study of the remains shows preferential use of basal levels of the cave as a den for hyenas and leopards. Neanderthals were also present during this phase and they would have acted mainly on deer and some caprines, while the action of hyenas would mainly have been linked to scavenging of elements left by humans and the introduction of bear remains. Leopards would have transported caprines in order to consume them. The study of several coprolites confirms that hyenas and leopards were the main occupants of the cave. The information from the animals processed by humans together with other archaeological evidence and the intervention of various carnivores in these basal levels enables us to characterise a palimpsest of occupations that would have been short and sporadic in the case of humans.
... Quaternary Science Reviews 293 (2022) 107708 remains from Galeria. P. graculus has been considered a cold-climate indicator, but it was actually widespread during the Pleistocene (Tyrberg, 2008), when its distribution has been found to be linked to a combination of both cold conditions and open landscapes (Núñez-Lahuerta et al., 2018;Carrera et al., 2022 Fig. 3n). ...
Quaternary faunal remains are key for the understanding of the effect of climatic changes on both animal and human populations. Here we show for the first time in Atapuerca the analysis of an avian assemblage through the MIS9/8 boundary, a moment of climatic deterioration that coincides with the spread of Neanderthals and the adoption of Levallois technology. A total of 603 bird remains belonging to 17 taxa have been identified in the Middle Pleistocene units GIII and GIV (Galería site, Atapuerca, Spain). The assemblage is dominated by the extinct raven Corvus corax antecorax, followed by other cave-dwelling
taxa. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction points to the presence of open landscapes and water bodies in the lower units. Both the number of remains and the taxa diversity decreases dramatically towards the upper unit. This general decreasing concurs with the beginning of the MIS8 stage, and it is observed in other faunal groups in Atapuerca, pointing to a MIS8 glacial stage in the Iberian Peninsula stronger than previously described.
... In Ancestral Pueblo avifaunal assemblages, the latter set of interpretations is especially prominent, due in part to the numerous examples, both archaeological (Ainsworth et al. 2018;Crown 2016b;Eckert and Clark 2009) and ethnographic (Ortiz 1969;Tyler 1979;White 1947), of the importance of birds in Pueblo ceremony. At the same time, birds are often consumed as food, both outside the pre-Hispanic Southwest (Bovy et al. 2018;Fiore et al. 2016;Núñez-Lahuerta et al. 2017;Starkovich 2012) and within it (Cordero 2018;Jones et al. 2016;Lipe et al. 2016). Given this, it is no surprise that when birds are encountered in high frequencies in archaeological faunas, the first question asked is usually, 'are these birds ritual or are they functional?' ...
Using archaeological materials from the pre-Hispanic American Southwest, we explore how insights from both new materialism/posthumanism and Peircean semiotics enrich our understanding of object meanings. We highlight two artefact classes commonly found in contexts interpreted as ritual: avian osteological remains and red pigment. Drawing on archaeological evidence and a rich ethnographic record, we consider their diverse associations and uses with regard to their positions within relational assemblages and their qualities as material signs. Focusing specifically on the increase in avian remains in the Middle Rio Grande region in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the association of red pigment with lapidary production in Chaco Canyon in the tenth to twelfth centuries, we identify how these materials are linked to disparate objects and contexts through iconicity and indexicality. We point to the relational constitution of object meaning as confounding analytical taxonomies that are traditionally applied to these materials.
... In fact, avian assemblages have been the basis of many Pleistocene climate and ecosystem analysis. Núñez-Lahuerta et al. (2018a, 2018b carry out a wide range analysis in order to characterize avian associations as well as bird species behaviour from several western European sites belonging to the Late Pleistocene. Moreover the authors approximate to the ecosystems of Europe during this period studied. ...
This special issue of Quaternary International is the result of the workshop based on researches from the Quaternary of Europe presented in the First International Meeting of Early-stage Researchers in Palaeontology (1 st IMERP) held in Alpuente (eastern Spain) in 2016. Giving the amount of assistants, the event was divided into five different workshops: 'Life in Palaeozoic: an overview of land and sea ecosystems', 'Palaeobiodiversity and evolution in the Mesozoic world', 'Tertiary ecosystems: evolution and palaeoenvironments', 'New insights on Quaternary ecosystems' and 'General Palaeontology'. The authors of this special issue co-directed the workshop of the Quaternary ecosystems, which comprised 45 talks, 17 communications and 28 posters. A selection of them is included in this special volume, contributing to increase widely the knowledge of the Quaternary ecosystems.
... Nowadays the snowy owl is only present in the Scandinavian area associated to tundra areas ( Cramp and Simmons 1994;Svensson et al. 2010). This taxa is a classic example of southwards expansion during the Late Pleistocene ( Sánchez-Marco 2004;Ravnsbaek-Holm and Svenning 2014;Núñez-Lahuerta et al., forthcoming; among others). Its presence indicates colder than current conditions. ...
The Pleistocene faunal accumulations documented in caves have commonly been attributed to the activity
of humans or carnivores. According to the palaeontological and archaeological literature, cave hyena
(Crocuta spelaea) was the main known bone accumulator in karstic environments. However, in recent
times, the role of leopards as bone accumulators has been revealed, and recent research has identified
this behaviour in the Iberian Pleistocene. Moreover, there are other caves where leopard could have been
claimed as an accumulator such as S’Espasa. In this work we present its taphonomic study. This cave was
compared with the actualistic studies of leopards. Besides, the site of S’Espasa was compared with the
other leopard dens in the Iberian Peninsula. These sites present faunal assemblages composed mainly
by leopard (Panthera pardus) and Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica), the bones of this ungulate present
a similar pattern of bone modification by carnivores, skeletal survival rate, and bone breakage. These
features indicate that goats could have been accumulated by leopards. With the data from this work and
the previous ones, we try to establish a pattern that will help in the future to identify other accumulations
created by this big cat.
The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region “nobody’s land” during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.
The study of Pleistocene birds remains plays an important role on the understanding of palaeoecology, once different birds lived on specifically distinct environments, leading thus to a better perspective of the environment where the human communities from the Palaeolithic lived. The characterization of that environment it is one of the objectives of this study.
Some archaeological sites of the Portuguese Palaeolithic are rich in bones of vertebrates. The study of this palaeofauna has mainly focused on mammals, particularly on great mammals, in determent of other vertebrate groups, such as birds, reptiles and fishes. These theses find its main goal the research of Portuguese fossil avifauna and thus contribute to the knowledge of these birds from the oldest vestiges to the Pleistocene ones, who end up being the central focus of this thesis.
There are several sites in Portugal with fossil birds remains, from the Upper Jurassic on wards. However, that is a feable record and only sites prior to the Pleistocene are known: Guimarota (Upper Jurassic), Silveirinha (Middle Eocene), Charneca do Lumiar (Lisbon), Praia do Penedo (Sesimbra – Setúbal) and Amor (Leiria) from Lower and Upper Miocene. The fossil record of birds from the Pleistocene is much more abundant, but only sites with birds remains in archaeological context are known, no sites being known in geological context.
The data here published result from a sample of 2079 osteological remains of birds from eight Pleistocene sites: Gruta Nova da Columbeira, Gruta da Furninha, Gruta das Salemas, Gruta das Fontainhas, Gruta do Pego do Diabo, Gruta da Casa da Moura, Lapa da Rainha and Gruta do Caldeirão (partial). This study was complemented by others sites already published: Gruta da Figueira-Brava, Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Galerias Pesadas, Gruta do Escoural, Lapa do Picareiro and Gruta do Caldeirão.
Some of the studied birds remains (part of those from Gruta da Furninha and from Gruta das Fontainhas) had already been studied by Newton, in Harlé, 1910-11. Those are however very old studies, that needed to be revised specially in taxonomy. It must also be pointed out that many of the remains from Gruta da Furninha had never been studied, and were mixed among other remains of small vertebrates. A taxonomic revision study for the classified remains was therefore carried out and taxa were attributed to those not yet classified. This taxonomic attribution was done ate CIPA (IGESPAR) and LAP (CPGP-IPT) and the bird osteology reference collection of those laboratories was used for osteologic comparasion.
The first archaeological excavations in caves that took stratigraphy into account in Portugal were carried out in the 60’s, with the collaboration of Jean Roche. Before, with the exception of the excavations in Gruta das Furninha by Nery Delgado, in XIXth century, the stratigraphy was not accurate. For that reason the study of birds from some sites excavated previously presents difficulties in the interpretation of stratigraphy data.
The methodology used in this work consisted in the bibliographic research of the Pleistocene sites in Portugal where birds had occurred and in the taxonomic and osteometric study of the bone remains of those collections that could be accessed. The revision of taxa was carried out through the comparison with the collections from CIPA and LAP. This study was maindly based on the collections from Museu Geológico, from Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, and from Museu do Bombarral.
There is, in the Pleistocene avifauna of Portugal, especially in the sites studied in this work, a predominance of Passeriformes. Galliformes, columbiformes, falconiformes, strigiformes, anseriformes and charadriiformes occur also. Anseriformes and charadriiformes appear especially in sites located in coastal areas. The remaining orders (podicepediformes, gruiformes, procellariformes, pelecaniformes, gaviformes, coraciiformes, caprimulgiformes and cuculiformes) are represented by a very small number of remains.
Concerning the taxonomic comparison with the species still living today, there are few differences since most still occur in Portugal. Compared with other classes, there are more Pleistocene birds extinct in Portugal than amphibians and reptiles. However, compared with mammals, few bird species are extinct.
In the studied materials there is a near absence of cut marks or predation, so the majority of fossil accumulations of Pleistocene birds from Portugal are of natural origin and not anthropogenic.
It appears that the distribution of species is not homogeneous throughout different sites. There are a greater biodiversity of birds in some deposits than in others. Furthermore, the brief interval of geologic time between the deposits studied is an obstacle to a regional biostratigraphy: One can only guess at the distribution in time of the different species identified and associated climates.
From the overall analysis of the distribution of species by habitat, it appears that the deposits occur in all kinds of environments: forests, open fields and coastal areas. The habitat with fewer deposits is freshwater lakes. Gruta das Fontainhas excepted, rocky habitats are associated with mountainous ones. In spite of belonging to the same area, the species from Pego do Diabo are those of forest habitats and thus are not found in Gruta das Salemas.
Palaeoecological indications are generally consistent with other studies on Pleistocene faunas. Most species analysed suggest a predominance of a temperate dry climate.
The results presented in this contribution focus on the avian remains recovered from Praileaitz I cave, Deba, Gipuzkoa. Taxa diversity
and frequency are analysed within the recognized spatial and chronological frameworks. Corvids are the most abundant in all spaces and periods. The Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) and the Red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) account for more than 70% of the bone specimens identified. The assemblage is comprised by bird species resident in the Cantabrian coast but which also may be found in a wide range of climatic and ecological zones. The Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) constitutes an exception. Its occurrence in the Solutrean probably relates to colder conditions than the present. Skeletal part distribution, bone preservation and juvenile individuals suggest the mixed origin of the accumulations, with carcasses of naturally dead birds and occasional prey from diurnal raptors. No anthropic activity was acknowledged.
Global warming is predicted to cause substantial habitat rearrangements, with the most severe effects expected to occur in high-latitude biomes. However, one major uncertainty is whether species will be able to shift their ranges to keep pace with climate-driven environmental changes. Many recent studies on mammals have shown that past range contractions have been associated with local extinctions rather than survival by habitat tracking. Here, we have used an interdisciplinary approach that combines ancient DNA techniques, coalescent simulations and species distribution modelling, to investigate how two common cold-adapted bird species, willow and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus and Lagopus muta), respond to long-term climate warming. Contrary to previous findings in mammals, we demonstrate a genetic continuity in Europe over the last 20 millennia. Results from back-casted species distribution models suggest that this continuity may have been facilitated by uninterrupted habitat availability and potentially also the greater dispersal ability of birds. However, our predictions show that in the near future, some isolated regions will have little suitable habitat left, implying a future decrease in local populations at a scale unprecedented since the last glacial maximum.
The hunting of small game in the Upper Palaeolithic is a practice that hides a still underestimated complexity. This article provides an overview of the exploitation of a fast-moving, low-turnover small game: the snowy owl in the Magdalenian. This overview is based on the existing literature as well as unpublished taphonomic and zooarchaeological data.The data are unevenly distributed over the cultural territory of the Magdalenian, being concentrated in the Aquitaine Basin and its vicinity. Greater local availability on the wintering ground and contexts in which the bones have been well preserved could explain this distribution. Between 21 and 14 ka cal BP, the hunting of the snowy owl appears to have been a discontinuous phenomenon, no reliable data currently existing for the late Middle Magdalenian (18-16 ka cal BP).In both the Lower and Upper Magdalenian, the carcasses have undergone thorough treatment. A variety of products were sought-meat, long bones, phalanges, claws and feathers-relating to different spheres of hunter-gatherer activity. Only a technique for segmenting the bones by sawing appears specific to the Upper Magdalenian.
A rich Mid-Vistulian (Late Pleistocene) fauna of vertebrates (dated 33430 ± 1230 years BP) was discovered in the Central Carpathians. It consists of fish remains, one amphibian, one reptile, 38 taxa of birds and 33 mammal species. The faunal composition indicates a park–steppe and/or forest–steppe biome abundant in humid environments. Both hydrophilous and typically steppe species were found; they evidence a much more diverse community as compared with the extant faunal composition in the Carpathians. This palaeofauna yielded five species of birds (Branta leucopsis, Otis tetrax, Limosa limosa, Lanius excubitor, Turdus iliacus) and one of mammals (Sorex cf. kennardi) new to Poland.
Dolní Vĕstonice I and P redmostí I, two large and important Pavlovian sites in Moravia (Czech Republic), have yielded extraordinary assemblages of lithic artefacts as well as animal remains. In this paper, the bird remains from both these sites are analysed in terms of their species, anatomical representation and bone fragmentation. The large share of tetraonid and raven (Corvus corax) remains, and the over-representation of ulnas among the raven bones, are similarities shared by both sites included in the study, and by the other sites from Pavlovian times.
The early MIS 3 (55–40 Kyr BP associated with Middle Palaeolithic archaeology) bird remains
from Pin Hole, Creswell Crags, Derbyshire, England are analysed in the context of
the new dating of the site’s stratigraphy. The analysis is restricted to the material from the
early MIS 3 level of the cave because the upper fauna is now known to include Holocene
material as well as that from the Late Glacial. The results of the analysis confirm the presence
of the taxa, possibly unexpected for a Late Pleistocene glacial deposit including records
such as Alpine swift, demoiselle crane and long-legged buzzard with southern and/or
eastern distributions today. These taxa are accompanied by more expected ones such as
willow ptarmigan /red grouse and rock ptarmigan living today in northern and montane
areas. Finally, there are temperate taxa normally requiring trees for nesting such as wood
pigeon and grey heron. Therefore, the result of the analysis is that the avifauna of early MIS
3 in England included taxa whose ranges today do not overlap making it a non-analogue
community similar to the many steppe-tundra mammalian faunas of the time. The inclusion
of more temperate and woodland taxa is discussed in the light that parts of northern Europe
may have acted as cryptic northern refugia for some such taxa during the last glacial. These
records showing former ranges of taxa are considered in the light of modern phylogeographic
studies as these often assume former ranges without considering the fossil record
of those taxa. In addition to the anomalous combination of taxa during MIS 3 living in Derbyshire,
the individuals of a number of the taxa are different in size and shape to members of
the species today probably due to the high carrying capacity of the steppe-tundra.
A preliminary, broad-scale vegetation map reconstruction for use by archaeologists and anthropologists is presented here for the world at the Last Glacial Maximum (18,000 BP, but broadly representing the interval from 25,000 to 15,000 BP). The global LGM map was produced from a range of literature and map sources, and drawn on a GIS with topographic information. Extended coastlines due to LGM sea-level drop were obtained using bathymetric information. The map is available in image and Geographic Information System (GIS) formats, on a global or regional basis.
Aves are represented by abundant fossil remains in Quaternary sites. Birds are well adapted to the environment they inhabit, so they make very good paleoenvironmental indicators for Quaternary sites. Here we analyse the avian remains from the Late Pleistocene (probably MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7 (AGP-7). The Pleistocene sediments fill up a shallow cave, which is located in the Zaragozan part of the Iberian Range, 55 km south of the city of Zaragoza. We have for the first time provided a taxonomic and taphonomic study of the avian assemblage of AGP-7, as well as a preliminary paleoenvironmental analysis based on these data. Nine avian taxa have been identified: Galliformes indet., Lagopus sp., Aquila chrysaetos, Gyps fulvus, Passeridae indet., Anthus sp., Prunella modularis,Sturnus cf. unicolor and Corvus monedula. The taphonomic analysis did not provide conclusive information. However, it suggests an accumulation of uneaten food remains by diurnal birds of prey. The identified taxa currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula, populating woodland environments with rocky areas. They are found in areas with an oceanic climate, in contrast to the Mediterranean climate that now prevails in Aguilón.
It has long been known that mountain glaciers and continental ice sheets around the globe reached their respective maximum extent at different times during the last glacial cycle, often well before the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c. 23-19 ka), which is formally defined by peaks in global sea-level and marine oxygen isotope records. However, there is increasing evidence from around the world that it was not only mountain glaciers which were asynchronous with the global LGM but also some regions of the large continental glaciers. The Barents-Kara Ice Sheet in northern Eurasia together with a majority of ice masses throughout Asia and Australasia reached their maximum early in the last glacial cycle, a few thousand years before the global LGM period. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet also reached its maximum extent several millennia before the global LGM. In numerous mountainous regions at high-, mid- and low-latitudes across the world, glaciers reached their maximum extent before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, in MIS 5,4 and 3. This is in contrast to most sectors of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, the SE sector of the Fennoscandinavian Ice Sheet and the Alpine Ice Sheet in central Europe, which appear to have reached their maximum close to the global LGM in MIS 2. The diachronous maximum extents of both mountain glaciers and continental ice sheets during the last glacial cycle, means that the term and acronym Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has limited chronostratigraphical meaning when correlating glacial deposits and landforms.
Dolní Vestonice I and Pedmosti are one of the largest and best known Pavlovian sites known from Moravia (Czech Republic). They have yielded extraordinary assemblages of osseous and lithic artefacts, as well as animal remains, subsequently addressed in innumerable publications. The presentation briefly summarizes the results of the analysis of bird bone remains from Dolní Vestonice I and Pedmosti. Analysis of features such as species compo - sition, representation of anatomical remains, and frag - mentation of bones, confirms that rather than being natural these accumulations took form as a result of hu - man activity. The observable domination of the remains of Raven (Corvus corax), which is confirmed also in other Gravettian sites in Moravia, may be a feature distinctive for the Pavlovian culture/Gravettian of Moravia.
We studied the nesting ecology and movement patterns of Eurasian black vultures (Aegypius monachus) nesting in and near Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia. From 2003 till 2009, we monitored nesting pairs from incubation to fledging and compared nesting success for pairs nesting on rocks and trees. We captured chicks just prior to fledging to apply leg bands and wing tags. We also captured adults in June and attached solar-powered global positioning system (GPS)/satellite telemetry units, leg bands, and wing tags. We collected re-sighting data on marked birds opportunistically and telemetry data on tagged birds. We moni-tored 363 nesting pairs from 2003 to 2009. Most nesting failures occurred during the ~ 55 day incubation period. Overall, 50.9 % of nesting pairs raised a chick to fledgling. Nesting substrate (i.e., rock or tree) did not influence nesting success. Between 2006 and 2009 we received re-ports of sightings for 21 individual birds and on 37 occasions (n = 1 – 6 sightings/bird). Thirty three sightings (89 %) came from South Korea between November and March, with other sight-ings in Mongolia, China, and Russia. We placed 5 GPS/satellite telemetry units on adult vultures in 2008 and 2009, but one did not work. We received 2,767 locations from the other 4 units through 2009. Adult vultures used large foraging areas, covering a mean minimum convex poly-gon home range of 27,025 ±11,922 SE km 2 , a mean 95 % kernel home range of 4,953 ±1,596 SE km 2 , and a mean core home range (i.e., 50 % kernel) of 526 ±168 SE km 2 . Our data suggest that only fledgling and juvenile birds disperse from Mongolia in late autumn/early winter, while adults remain in near their nesting sites, but we require more data. We do not know if most of our tagged birds travel to Korea or the large number of reported re-sightings there result from the stronger bird watching tradition in that country compared with other areas.
The Late Pleistocene archaeo-palaeontological sites in the Iberian Peninsula are located mainly on the coasts. Here, we present for the first time a palaeoenvironmental proxy for Upper Pleistocene locality (Marine Isotope Stage 3 MIS3) that is in the interior peninsular, in the Moncayo massif (Zaragoza). This is actually the boundary between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian climatic regions. This study is based in the site ungulates: Capra pyrenaica, which is larger in size than the current and fossil Capra from the Mediterranean area of the Iberian Peninsula. The horses have a small size, which is similar to that of the horses from Fontainhas and Casares. Significantly lesser in the number of specimens are the roe deer, the southern chamois and the auroch. The study and comparison of the faunal assemblage of the locality of Los Rincones with other sites of the Iberian MIS3 show a cluster of sites in the southern Peninsular, though separated, due to the abundance of Capra pyrenaica. The association of Los Rincones is similar to the southern peninsular sites such as Nerja, Gorham Cave, Cova Beneito and Zafarraya. The ungulate assemblage of Los Rincones represents a landscape with temperate climate, presence of steppe and patches of forest, similar to the current landscape surrounding the cavity today.
Aims: The main aim was to present an overview of the avian geographical distribution patterns in the Mediterranean region during the Quaternary. Results and Conclusions: For this study seventy-two fossil sites located in the current Mediterranean region and in its peripheral fringe have been analysed. Most of the sites bear avian assemblages rich enough to offer an insight on the main features of local paleornithocaenoses. The approach of the steady Mediterranean refugia is used to explain the avian geographical distribution drawn from the Mediterranean fossil records. As a consequence, we increase the accuracy of our knowledge on the climatic changes during this period.
Providing an underutilized source of information for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, birds are rarely used to infer paleoenvironments despite their well-known ecology and extensive Quaternary fossil record. Here, we use the avian fossil record to investigate how Western Palearctic bird assemblages and species ranges have changed across the latter part of the Pleistocene, with focus on the links to climate and the implications for vegetation structure. As a key issue we address the full-glacial presence of trees in Europe north of the Mediterranean region, a widely debated issue with evidence for and against emerging from several research fields and data sources. We compiled and analyzed a database of bird fossil occurrences from archaeological sites throughout the Western Palearctic and spanning the Saalian-Eemian-Weichselian stages, i.e. 190,000-10,000 years BP. In general, cold and dry-adapted species dominated these late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene fossil assemblages, with clear shifts of northern species southwards during glacials, as well as northwards and westwards shifts of open-vegetation species from the south and east, respectively and downwards shifts of alpine species. A direct link to climate was clear in Northwestern Europe. However, in general, bird assemblages more strongly reflected vegetation changes, underscoring their usefulness for inferring the vegetation structure of past landscapes. Forest-adapted birds were found in continuous high proportions throughout the study period, providing support for the presence of trees north of the Alps, even during full-glacial stages. Furthermore, the results suggest forest-dominated but partially open Eemian landscapes in the Western Palearctic, including the Northwestern European subregion.
A period of continental ice growth between about 80,000 and 70,000 years
ago was controlled by a decrease in summer insolation, and was among the
four largest ice expansions of the past 250,000 years. The moisture
source for this ice sheet expansion, known as the Marine Isotope Stage
(MIS) 5a/4 transition, has been proposed to be the warm subpolar and
northern subtropical Atlantic Ocean. However, the mechanism by which
glaciers kept growing through three suborbital cooling events within
this period, which were associated with iceberg discharge in the North
Atlantic and cooling over Greenland, is unclear. Here we reconstruct
parallel records of sea surface and air temperatures from marine
microfossil and pollen data, respectively, from two sediment cores
collected within the northern subtropical gyre. The thermal gradient
between the cold air and warmer sea increased throughout the MIS5a/4
transition, and was marked by three intervals of even more pronounced
thermal gradients associated with the C20, C19 and C18' cold events. We
argue that the warm ocean surface along the western European margin
provided a source of moisture that was transported, through
northward-tracking storms, to feed ice sheets in colder Greenland,
northern Europe and the Arctic.
A comprehensive, but simple-to-use software package for executing a range of standard numerical analysis and operations used in quantitative paleontology has been developed. The program, called PAST (PAleontological STatistics), runs on standard Windows computers and is available free of charge. PAST integrates spreadsheettype data entry with univariate and multivariate statistics, curve fitting, time-series analysis, data plotting, and simple phylogenetic analysis. Many of the functions are specific to paleontology and ecology, and these functions are not found in standard, more extensive, statistical packages. PAST also includes fourteen case studies (data files and exercises) illustrating use of the program for paleontological problems, making it a complete educational package for courses in quantitative methods.
The preservation of palaeoenvironmental and archeological records in cave and rock shelter contexts is often called into question for Pleistocene sequences. Records are always fragmentary and the preservation of sediments and archaeological remains is partial and differential, according to site history. The karst deposits are often frequently described as disturbed due to post-depositional processes and phases of erosion over time. However, taphonomical analyses and some very well-preserved evidence attest to the capacity of caves to record data. Systematic and interdisciplinary fieldwork and studies allow for the reconstruction of some characteristics of Neanderthal occupations in their biostratigraphical and geochronological context.
Investigations in four natural traps from southeastern France have provided new and extensive information on the palaeoenvironment from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21,000 to 15,075 cal BP), the Late-glacial period (15,075 to 11,490 cal BP) and the beginning of Holocene (11,490 to 2835 cal BP). Radiocarbon and U/Th dates provided precise chronological data. In the Coulet des Roches, an LGM and a near complete Late-glacial period sequence were identified. The infilling preserved skeletons of large mammals, revealing a new faunal assemblage for southeastern France. For the first time, two distinct southern expansions of Dicrostonyx torquatus have been identified, correlated firstly to the LGM and secondly to the Late-glacial period. Dicrostonyx torquatus was found to be associated with Microtus oeconemus during the Oldest Dryas (15,075 to 18,270 cal BP). Morphological adaptations to the cold climate were indicated by some mammals (Vulpes vulpes, Mustela nivalis, Mustela erminea, Equus caballus gallicus). Among the birds, Bubo scandiacus and Pyrrhocorax graculus were found to be abundant. Palynological data suggested a very open landscape as well as a cold and rather dry climate. Rangifer tarandus remains were recovered from the Oldest Dryas layers of Aven des Planes. During the Allerød, a wooded environment permitted the dispersal of Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, Tetrao urogallus as well as reptiles and amphibians. Holocene sequences existed in these two natural traps as in Aven Souche n° 1 and n° 2. At this time, a sparsely wooded landscape covered much of the area. Cervus elaphus and Tetrao urogallus were still present with Canis lupus, Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris. Areas of open landscape were occupied by Otis tarda. During the Bronze Age (2200 to 800 cal BC) and Iron Age (800 to 50 cal BC), Aven des Planes, Aven Souche n° 1 and n° 2 were used by humans and had a sepulchral destination.
Heinrich event 4 (H4) is well documented in the North Atlantic Ocean as
a cooling event that occurred between 39 and 40 Ka. Deep-sea cores
around the Iberian Peninsula coastline have been analysed to
characterize the H4 event, but there are no data on the terrestrial
response to this event. Here we present for the first time an analysis
of terrestrial proxies for characterizing the H4 event, using the
small-vertebrate assemblage (comprising small mammals, squamates and
amphibians) from Terrassa Riera dels Canyars, an
archaeo-palaeontological deposit located on the seaboard of the
northeastern Iberian Peninsula. This assemblage shows that the H4 event
is characterized in northeastern Iberia by harsher and drier terrestrial
conditions than today. Our results were compared with other proxies such
as pollen, charcoal, phytolith, avifauna and large-mammal data available
for this site, as well as with the general H4 event fluctuations and
with other sites where H4 and the previous and subsequent Heinrich
events (H5 and H3) have been detected in the Mediterranean and Atlantic
regions of the Iberian Peninsula. We conclude that the terrestrial
proxies follow the same patterns as the climatic and environmental
conditions detected by the deep-sea cores at the Iberian margins.
Contrary to their cold-adapted image, Neanderthals inhabited Pleistocene Europe during a time of great climatic fluctuation with temperatures ranging from as warm as present-day during the last interglacial to as cold as those of the last glacial maximum. Cold-adapted Neanderthals are similarly most often associated with the exploitation of large mammals who are themselves cold-adapted (mammoth, bison, reindeer, etc.). Cold, high-latitude environments are typically seen as lacking in plants generally and in plant foods in particular. Plant foods are therefore usually ignored and Neanderthals are increasingly being viewed as top carnivores who derived the vast majority of their diet from meat. Support for this hypothesis comes largely from stable isotope analysis which tracks only the protein portion of the diet. Diets high in lean meat largely fulfill micronutrient needs but can pose a problem at the macronutrient level. Lean meat can compose no more than 35% of dietary energy before a protein ceiling is reached. Exceeding the protein ceiling can have detrimental physiological effects on the individual. Neanderthals would have needed energy from alternative sources, particularly when animals are fat-depleted and lean meat intake is high. Underground storage organs (USOs) of plants offer one such source, concentrating carbohydrates and energy. USOs could also provide an important seasonal energy source since they are at their maximum energy storage in late fall/winter.Although Paleolithic sites are increasingly yielding plant remains, their presence is rare and they are often given only passing mention in Neanderthal dietary reconstructions. The complexity and number of potential wild plant foods, however, defies easy discussion. Native European wild edible plants with starchy USOs would have been potentially available throughout the Neanderthal range, even during the coldest periods of the Late Pleistocene.
Grotta Romanelli is one of the most important sites of the Italian palaeolithic. It contains a lithic industry from the Final Epigravettian, examples of rock and mobiliary art and numerous bone remains, among which were abundant remains of birds. Approximately 32 000 bird bones from over 3650 individuals and 109 species were identified. The most common species were bustards, Otis tetrax and O. tarda, and three species of goose, Anser fabalis, A. albifrons and Branta bernicla. Traces of butchering and burning were evident on numerous bones. The nature and location of the cut marks and burning is described here. The analysis has involved mostly the hind limbs and the shoulder girdle where traces are most numerous. The cut marks reflect a codified sequence of actions of disarticulation and dismemberment. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biśnik Cave is situated in a limestone rock about 50 km northeast of Kraków, southern Poland. Its importance stems from the fact that it is one of the few sites in Europe, and the only one in Poland, with 300,000-year-long sequence of uninterrupted sediments, that cover the time span from before the Saalian to the Holocene. The excavations yielded about 200,000 animal bones and more than 4,000 stone, bone and antler artifacts. Bird remains from Biśnik Cave consist of nearly 1,600 skeletal fragments of at least 96 taxa that represent a minimum of 285 individuals. The majority of the remains belong to Galliformes; relatively numerous are also Corvidae, Falconiformes, Anseriformes and the genus Turdus. The remains include one extinct taxon (Falco tinnunculus atavus) and four species new for the Polish fossil avifauna (Aquila heliaca, Pinicola enucleator, Loxia pytyopsittacus and Carduelis flammea). Avian remains indicate a mosaic of various habitats in the surroundings of Biśnik Cave. Some kind of mature forest or at least sparsely growing trees, as well as water bodies, marshes, wet meadows, steppe and tundra habitats must have been present during the entire time of sedimentation. It is postulated that the Kraków-Cze{ogonek}stochowa Upland was a local refugium for the forest fauna during the Saalian and Vistulian glaciations.
We present a study of Late Pleistocene fossil bird remains from Ingarano (Apulia, SE Italy), based on the revision of previously published material and the study of unpublished fossils bones. New field observations make it possible to simplify the stratigraphy of the deposit compared to previous work. The systematic study of the fossil bird bones revealed the presence of 17 taxa, including two hypothetical ones: Circus aeruginosus, Buteo rufinus, Aquila chrysaëtos, Falco columbarius, Falco cherrug, Alectoris graeca, Perdix perdix, Columba livia, Otus scops, Nyctea scandiaca, Nyctea scandiaca vel Bubo bubo, Athene noctua noctua, Pyrrhocorax graculus, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, Corvus corone, Corvus corone vel Corvus frugilegus, Corvus corax. Our detailed study also helps improve the taphonomical interpretation of the deposit: the remains from the lower layers were accumulated after mammalian predator activity and were transported over short distances, while the ones from the upper layers show sings of intense transport, such as fractures and surface abrasion. Two different bird assemblages were recognized, respectively from the lowermost and the upper layers of the clastic succession exposed in the Ingarano deposit; this difference is also confirmed by the fossil mammal remains. The systematic study makes it possible to make palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions: both assemblages indicate open environments, and the taxa of the lower layers indicate the presence of woods and wetlands with colder characteristics, while birds of the upper layers indicate drier and warmer conditions, This analysis, and the dating established through geochemical analyses and study of lithic artefacts, lead us to date the formation of the Ingarano deposit to the Late Pleistocene, in particular to the MIS 3. The presence of a layer dated to the MIS 2 at the base of the succession indicated in previous works cannot be confirmed.
287 pp., 37 fig., 206 tabl., 9 pl.
High-resolution pollen analysis of core MD01-2430 from the Sea of Marmara (40 • 47.81 N, 27 • 43.51 E) allows us to reconstruct the vegetation response to climatic changes during the past 23 cal ka in the Northeastern Mediterranean. Variation in mesic/temperate forest cover indicates major climatic shifts connected to Heinrich Sta-dial 1, Bölling-Allerød, Younger Dryas and to the onset of the Holocene. Pollen–anthropogenic indicator approach was used to recognize human-induced landscape changes in the Sea of Marmara. The pollen-inferred onset of the Holocene occurs at ca. 11.5 cal ka, indicating that the Northeastern Mediterranean region represents a transitional zone where higher moisture availability supported an earlier forest expansion than the borderlands of the Aegean Sea and Black Sea. Two major forest retreats occurred during the Holocene at ca. 5.5 and 2.1 cal ka. The Holocene forest setbacks are in phase with previously published alkenone-inferred sea-surface temperature decreases in the Sea of Marmara reconstructed from the same core. Our new pollen record testifies the sensitivity of Mediterranean forests to changes in moisture availability, which is driven by changes in high-latitude atmospheric processes (North Atlantic Oscillations and/or Siberian High).
This is the first article that describes in detail the bird remains from the Gravettian mega-site Pavlov I in the Czech Republic. More than 1000 bird bones represent at least 19 taxa, of which the most numerous are tetraonids including black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) and ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and ravens (Corvus corax). The archaeological and biological contexts indicate that most birds were hunted by people in the vicinity of the site, possibly with the help of knotted nets made from plant fibres. We suggest that ravens were killed while feeding on carcasses and/or food remains that may have been disposed of intentionally, and feathers may have been used for arrow fletching. Human-modified bones indicate that birds were used not only for food but also as raw material for tools and decoration. Although mammals were certainly more important in the subsistence of the Gravettian people, it is clear that birds played a role in their culture. The location of Pavlov I enlarges the explanatory scope of the Broad Spectrum Revolution hypothesis to include higher latitudes north of the Mediterranean.
Data on Late Pleistocene avifauna from two Transylvanian caves are presented. The assemblage of Curata Cave consists of 24 species that lived in a very diverse environment. An abundance of Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) remains (54%) is observable. The material of Bordu Mare Cave yielded 24 taxa, mostly such as live in woody and rocky mountainous country. Some species became extinct in the Holocene bird fauna of Romania, while others are very rare and highly endangered. As both samples are rather fragmentary and none of the bones indicate any human exploitation, the remains are considered due to the activity of different predators.
The sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) are renowned for providing a complete Quaternary record, both archaeological and paleontological. The record consists of cave filling sediments in a karst system, developed in carbonate rocks. The Sima del Elefante site is divided into three units, in accordance with its geological features: the lower red unit (TELRU) (Early Pleistocene), the middle white unit, and the upper red unit (TEURU) (Middle Pleistocene). In this work we present the first results of a study of the bird association from the lowest level of the TELRU, TE7. A first analysis of the avian remains from level TE7 shows sixteen avian taxa: Anseriformes indet., Anas crecca, Haliaeetus albicilla, Galliformes indet., Coturnix coturnix, Passeriformes indet., Galerida cristata, Lullula arborea, Anthus campestris, Motacilla cinerea, Turdus pilaris/viscivorus, Turdus iliacus/merula/philomelos, Muscicapa sp., Corvus frugilegus, Corvus frugilegus/corone, and Corvus corax antecorax. The present work represents the first paleontological record of Motacilla cinerea and Corvus frugilegus, and the first record in the Iberian Peninsula of Anas crecca, Haliaeetus albicilla, Galerida cristata, Anthus campestris, the genus Muscicapa, and Corvus corax antecorax. Unlike in other papers published on the Aves of Sima del Elefante, all the specimens studied were obtained by concentrating the sediment by a process of washing and sieving the sedimentary materials acquired from excavations of the site.
The cave-site of Furninha is located on the sea cliff face of the small peninsular zone of Peniche in Portuguese Estremadura. Excavated by N. Delgado at the end of nineteenth century, it yielded a very rich and diversified Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage attributed to the early Late Pleistocene. A preliminary global overview is given in terms of geology, palaeobotany, palaeobiology s.l. and taphonomy. The fossils come from a ca.6 m deep pit in the basement of the karstic galleries with several layers. Carnivore remains dominate among large mammals, especially bear, hyena, wolf and lynx. In contrast, herbivore remains are few and show specific damage due to predators. Among the small mammals, a huge number of leporid bones as well as remains of insectivores and birds were found. Some few lithic artifacts occurred. The two first predators, bear and hyena, represent a well preserved collection with several skulls and mandibles as well as many complete long bones from both young and adult individuals. Hyenid remains are attributed to 'Hyaena prisca', a taxon known from late Middle Pleistocene sites, which survived later in Portugal. Its taxonomic and phyletic relationships are not well known, and first morphofunctional analyses precise its status and paleoautoecology. We detail the vertebrate assemblages recovered from the different stratigraphic layers, which will allow us to comment the degree of intra-and interspecific competitions, and to explain the origin of such bone accumulations and behaviors of these predators.
The cave of Jou Puerta (Asturias, NW Spain), provided an interesting large mammal assemblage including cold-adapted elements like Coelodonta antiquitatis and Mammuthus primigenius, which are not frequent in Iberian sites. The chronology of the fossils ranges from 36.6 to 30.2 Cal ka BP, corresponding to MIS 3, an episode characterized by fast climate changes, from extreme cold to temperate conditions.
The origin of the bone accumulation is related to a natural trap, so most of the fossils were unusually well preserved.
The woolly rhinoceros remains yielded one of the most numerous and well preserved populations of this species from the Iberian Peninsula, which allowed carrying out a detailed comparative anatomical study.
The faunal composition of Jou Puerta was statistically analyzed in comparison with other Iberian and Western European fossil assemblages where C. antiquitatis and/or M. primigenius occurred. The results showed that temperate ungulate species are predominant at most of the Iberian assemblages, including Jou Puerta, resulting in a particular mixture of temperate and cold elements which does not reflect the typical faunal composition of the Eurasian mammoth steppe. This particular situation supports the idea that these cold taxa only reached the Peninsula occasionally, during the coldest episodes of the Pleistocene, resulting in a mixing of cold and temperate faunas, instead of a faunal replacing.
Les Magdaleniens et la chouette harfang : la Grotte de Bourrouilla, Arancou (Pyrenees Atlantiques). Dans la Grotte de Bourrouilla a Arancou, les ossements de plus de 53 harfangs ont ete decouverts dans des deblais de fouilles clandestines en association avec une occupation magdalenienne stratifiee. L'etude des os de Nyctea scandiaca montre que certaines parties ont ete soumises a un processus intensif d'ecorchage et de modifications de l'os tandis que les ossements d'autres especes d'oiseaux n'ont pas ete systematiquement traites de cette maniere. Les comparaisons avec des gisements contemporains du nord de l'Aquitaine montrent que cette tendance s'y repete et suggerent que l'exploitation particuliere de ces chouettes peut avoir des motivations culturelles plutot que strictement alimentaires. Cependant, les traitements subis par les ossements aussi bien que la conservation differentielle des restes dans chaque gisement publie, sont trop variables pour suggerer une explication unique en terme de comportement vis-a-vis des carcasses de harfangs.
The birds found in the Middle and Upper Pleistocene sites of France can be classified in four categories according to the thermic requirements of present forms. A «guide-number growing from 1 to 4 and corresponding to an increasing temperature has been ascribed to each category. The «Thermic index is calculated from this guide-number and takes into account the relative frequency of species.The different values obtained for the main fossilavifaunas allow to find climatic fluctuations that, in the whole, confirm the facts already known, which therefore allows to test the method.
TOMEK T., BOCHEÑSKI Z. 2005. Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Koma-rowa Cave, Central Poland. Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 48A(1-2): 43-65. Abstract. Identified bird remains from Komarowa Cave consist of 1872 skeletal frag-ments of at least 106 taxa. They come from sediments accumulated between the Early Glacial and Holocene, and represent various habitats of all European climatic zones. The most interesting are the fairly numerous bones of the Alpine Swift indicating the presence of a breeding colony far from its recent breeding range. Ten bird taxa are new for the Pol-ish Pleistocene avifauna.
Bird bone remains consisting of 2477 skeletal fragments belonging to at least 488 bird individuals of 116 taxa are described, the great majority of them identified to the species level. They are characteristic of various habitats and all European climatic zones. They accumulated in the Late Glacial period of the Vistulian and the Holocene. 11 bird taxa have not been recorded from Poland as fossils.
Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) is an improvement upon the reciprocal averaging (RA) ordination technique. RA has two main faults: the second axis is often an arch or horseshoe distortion of the first axis, and distances in the ordination space do not have a consistent meaning in terms of compositional change (in particular, distances at the ends of the first RA axis are compressed relative to the middle). DCA corrects these two faults. Tests with simulated and field data show DCA superior to RA and to nonmetric multidimensional sealing in giving clear, interpretable results. DCA has several advantages. (a) Its performance is the best of the ordination techniques tested, and both species and sample ordinations are produced simultaneously. (b) The axes are scaled in standard deviation units with a definite meaning, (c) As implemented in a FORTRAN program called DECORANA, computing time rises only linearly with the amount of data analyzed, and only positive entries in the data matrix are stored in memory, so very large data sets present no difficulty. However, DCA has limitations, making it best to remove extreme outliers and discontinuities prior to analysis. DCA consistently gives the most interpretable ordination results, but as always the interpretation of results remains a matter of ecological insight and is improved by field experience and by integration of supplementary environmental data for the vegetation sample sites.
The location and survival of trees in the coldest stages of the last full-glacial has long been of interest to palaeoecologists, biogeographers, archaeologists and geneticists alike. In particular, where species survived in isolated refugia and the influence that this has had upon the long-term ancestry of the populations, remain key research questions. However, the exact location of refugia during the coldest stages of the full-glacial still remains illusive for many species of fauna and flora, with different lines of evidence often being at odds. This is particularly true for Europe. Emerging evidence from various fossil proxies, palaeoclimatic modelling and genetic research is starting to suggest that the traditional paradigm that trees were restricted to southern Europe and in particular the three southern peninsulas (Balkan, Italian and Iberian) during the full-glacial is questionable. This is backed by increasing evidence, including 151 14C-dated and identified pieces of macrofossil charcoal wood from 40 localities in central and eastern Europe to indicate that during the last full-glacial populations of coniferous and some deciduous trees grew much further north and east than previously assumed. This paper reviews the fossil evidence and considers it alongside genetic and palaeoclimatic evidence in order to contribute towards a newly emerging synthesis of the full-glacial refugial localities in Europe and their influence upon the ancestry of European species. Plotted against a new high-resolution millennial time-scale for the interval ∼32–∼16 ka BP in Greenland our evidence shows that coniferous as well as some broadleaf trees were continuously present throughout those interstadial/stadial cycles for which there are adequate data.