Coexistence, Extinction and Survival-The Evolutionary History of Bison Species in Western Eurasia.

Llamas, B; van Loenen, AL; Mitchell, KJ; Hofman-Kamińska, E; Bocherens, H; Heiniger, H; Pacher, M; Makowiecki, D; Piličiauskienė, G; Drucker, DG; Brown, D; Thomas, ZA; Turney, CSM; Kowalczyk, R; Cooper, A

Coexistence, Extinction and Survival-The Evolutionary History of Bison Species in Western Eurasia.

Llamas, B van Loenen, AL Mitchell, KJ Hofman-Kamińska, E Bocherens, H Heiniger, H Pacher, M Makowiecki, D Piličiauskienė, G Drucker, DG Brown, D Thomas, ZA Turney, CSM Kowalczyk, R Cooper, A

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Publisher:: Wiley
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Glob Chang Biol, 2025, 31, (8), pp. e70354
Issue Date:: 2025-08

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Llamas, B
dc.contributor.author	van Loenen, AL
dc.contributor.author	Mitchell, KJ
dc.contributor.author	Hofman-Kamińska, E
dc.contributor.author	Bocherens, H
dc.contributor.author	Heiniger, H
dc.contributor.author	Pacher, M
dc.contributor.author	Makowiecki, D
dc.contributor.author	Piličiauskienė, G
dc.contributor.author	Drucker, DG
dc.contributor.author	Brown, D
dc.contributor.author	Thomas, ZA
dc.contributor.author	Turney, CSM
dc.contributor.author	Kowalczyk, R
dc.contributor.author	Cooper, A
dc.date.accessioned	2025-08-18T22:19:57Z
dc.date.available	2025-06-11
dc.date.available	2025-08-18T22:19:57Z
dc.date.issued	2025-08
dc.identifier.citation	Glob Chang Biol, 2025, 31, (8), pp. e70354
dc.identifier.issn	1354-1013
dc.identifier.issn	1365-2486
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189476
dc.description.abstract	European bison (Bison bonasus) are one of the few European megafaunal species to survive the Late Pleistocene mass megafaunal extinction. Current conservation management efforts have proceeded in the absence of information about their evolutionary history, which has been obscured by recent severe population bottlenecks. We characterized mitochondrial genomes from 135 ancient bison samples spanning > 50,000 years (> 50 ka) across the Eurasian continent and detected three distinct phylogenetic groups: two distinct clades of European bison and the extinct steppe bison (Bison priscus). The geographical distributions and dietary/ecological signatures of the three groups overlapped during the Late Pleistocene climate cycles and tracked environmental changes including vegetation cover and human impacts. The abundance of European bison specimens responded negatively to the extent of forest cover, including Holocene cycles of abrupt atmospheric-ocean circulation changes originating in the North Atlantic. European bison remain preferentially adapted to an open environment, but with today's anthropogenic landscapes, are now largely restricted to forest habitats with negative implications under scenarios of future environmental change.
dc.format	Print
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation.ispartof	Glob Chang Biol
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/gcb.70354
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	05 Environmental Sciences, 06 Biological Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Ecology
dc.subject.classification	31 Biological sciences
dc.subject.classification	37 Earth sciences
dc.subject.classification	41 Environmental sciences
dc.subject.mesh	Bison
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Europe
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Biological Evolution
dc.subject.mesh	Phylogeny
dc.subject.mesh	Genome, Mitochondrial
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Bison
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Phylogeny
dc.subject.mesh	Europe
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Genome, Mitochondrial
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Biological Evolution
dc.subject.mesh	Bison
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Europe
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Biological Evolution
dc.subject.mesh	Phylogeny
dc.subject.mesh	Genome, Mitochondrial
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.title	Coexistence, Extinction and Survival-The Evolutionary History of Bison Species in Western Eurasia.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	31
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	05 Environmental Sciences
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-08-18T22:19:54Z
pubs.issue	8
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	31
utslib.citation.issue	8

Abstract:

European bison (Bison bonasus) are one of the few European megafaunal species to survive the Late Pleistocene mass megafaunal extinction. Current conservation management efforts have proceeded in the absence of information about their evolutionary history, which has been obscured by recent severe population bottlenecks. We characterized mitochondrial genomes from 135 ancient bison samples spanning > 50,000 years (> 50 ka) across the Eurasian continent and detected three distinct phylogenetic groups: two distinct clades of European bison and the extinct steppe bison (Bison priscus). The geographical distributions and dietary/ecological signatures of the three groups overlapped during the Late Pleistocene climate cycles and tracked environmental changes including vegetation cover and human impacts. The abundance of European bison specimens responded negatively to the extent of forest cover, including Holocene cycles of abrupt atmospheric-ocean circulation changes originating in the North Atlantic. European bison remain preferentially adapted to an open environment, but with today's anthropogenic landscapes, are now largely restricted to forest habitats with negative implications under scenarios of future environmental change.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189476