Reconstructing dust input fluctuations and provenance in the western Mediterranean since the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract. Archaeozoological finds of the remains of marine and amphihaline fish from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ca. 21 ka ago show evidence of very different species ranges compared to the present. We show how an ecological niche model (ENM) based on palaeoclimatic reconstructions of sea surface temperature and bathymetry can be used to effectively predict the spatial range of marine fish during the LGM. The results indicate that the ranges of marine fish species that are now in Northwestern Europe were almost completely displaced southward from the modern distribution. Significantly, there is strong evidence that there was an invasion of fish of current economic importance into the Western Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar, where they were exploited by Palaeolithic human populations. There has been much recent interest in the marine glacial refugia to understand how the ranges of the economically important fish species will be displaced with the future climate warming. Recent ENM studies have suggested that species ranges may not have been displaced far southward during the coldest conditions of the LGM. However, archaeozoological evidence and LGM ocean temperature reconstructions indicate that there were large range changes, and certain marine species were able invade the Western Mediterranean. These findings are important for ongoing studies of molecular ecology that aim to assess marine glacial refugia from the genetic structure of living populations, and they pose questions about the genetic identity of vanished marine populations during the LGM. The research presents a challenge for future archaeozoological work to verify palaeoclimatic reconstructions and delimit the glacial refugia.

Download Full-text

Continental/Cordilleran ice interactions: a dominant cause of westward super-elevation of the last glacial maximum continental ice limit in southwestern Alberta, Canada

CrossRef Listing of Deleted DOIs ◽

10.1080/030094801300062284 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 43-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Edward C. Little ◽

Lionel E. Jackson ◽

Thomas S. James ◽

Stephen R. Hicock ◽

Elizabeth R. Leboe

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

Download Full-text

Mollusk record of millennial climate variability in the Loess Plateau during the Last Glacial Maximum

Boreas ◽

10.1080/03009480210648 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 20-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Naiqin Wu ◽

Tungsheng Liu ◽

Xiuping Liu ◽

Zhaoyan Gu

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

Download Full-text

Reconstructions of the past distribution of Testudo graeca mitochondrial lineages in the Middle East and Transcaucasia support multiple refugia since the Last Glacial Maximum

Herpetological Journal ◽

10.33256/31.1.1017 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 10-17

Author(s):

Oguz Turkozan

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Testudo Graeca ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Past ◽

Precipitation Seasonality ◽

Multiple Refugia ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

A cycle of glacial and interglacial periods in the Quaternary caused species’ ranges to expand and contract in response to climatic and environmental changes. During interglacial periods, many species expanded their distribution ranges from refugia into higher elevations and latitudes. In the present work, we projected the responses of the five lineages of Testudo graeca in the Middle East and Transcaucasia as the climate shifted from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, Mid – Holocene), to the present. Under the past LGM and Mid-Holocene bioclimatic conditions, models predicted relatively more suitable habitats for some of the lineages. The most significant bioclimatic variables in predicting the present and past potential distribution of clades are the precipitation of the warmest quarter for T. g. armeniaca (95.8 %), precipitation seasonality for T. g. buxtoni (85.0 %), minimum temperature of the coldest month for T. g. ibera (75.4 %), precipitation of the coldest quarter for T. g. terrestris (34.1 %), and the mean temperature of the driest quarter for T. g. zarudyni (88.8 %). Since the LGM, we hypothesise that the ranges of lineages have either expanded (T. g. ibera), contracted (T. g. zarudnyi) or remained stable (T. g. terrestris), and for other two taxa (T. g. armeniaca and T. g. buxtoni) the pattern remains unclear. Our analysis predicts multiple refugia for Testudo during the LGM and supports previous hypotheses about high lineage richness in Anatolia resulting from secondary contact.

Download Full-text