Fossil record data on the mammal diversity and species richness are of importance for the reconstruction of the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition.In Eastern Europe,the...Fossil record data on the mammal diversity and species richness are of importance for the reconstruction of the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition.In Eastern Europe,the transformations during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition consisted mainly in changes in zonal structure and local fauna composition(Markova&Kolfschoten 2008).We investigated the species richness and the analogues of theα,βdiversity indexes(in the sense of Whittaker 1972)of large and medium size mammals for 13 climate-stratigraphic units dating to the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene,from the Hasselo Stadial(44-39 kBP)to the Subatlantic period and the present day.The biological diversity of the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM)and the Holocene thermal optimum was investigated in more detail using information about all mammalian taxa(PALEOFAUNA database;Markova 1995).One of our results show that theα,βdiversity values show only a negative correlation with the temperature conditions during the Late Pleistocene,the period that is characterized by the so-called‘Mammoth Fauna’complex.For the Holocene faunas the diversity indexes are nearly independent from physical conditions;theαdiversity index decreased and theβdiversity index increased.The relatively lowαdiversity and highβdiversity indexes for the present-day faunas are referred to the decrease of the population number of some forest species in historical time and the increase of the dominance of unspecialized species or the species connected with intra-zonal ecosystems.The study shows furthermore the occurrence of several East European‘centers’with a high mammal diversity,which are relatively stable during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.The orientation of the boundaries between the large geographical mammal assemblages depended,particularly in the northwestern part of Eastern Europe,on the expansion of the Scandinavian ice sheet.展开更多
基金The work was performed with the financial support from RFBR(grant№10-05-00111).We would like to thank our reviewers for their very constructive remarks.We are very grateful to Maria Rita Palombo for her suggestion to contribute to this volume.
文摘Fossil record data on the mammal diversity and species richness are of importance for the reconstruction of the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition.In Eastern Europe,the transformations during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition consisted mainly in changes in zonal structure and local fauna composition(Markova&Kolfschoten 2008).We investigated the species richness and the analogues of theα,βdiversity indexes(in the sense of Whittaker 1972)of large and medium size mammals for 13 climate-stratigraphic units dating to the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene,from the Hasselo Stadial(44-39 kBP)to the Subatlantic period and the present day.The biological diversity of the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM)and the Holocene thermal optimum was investigated in more detail using information about all mammalian taxa(PALEOFAUNA database;Markova 1995).One of our results show that theα,βdiversity values show only a negative correlation with the temperature conditions during the Late Pleistocene,the period that is characterized by the so-called‘Mammoth Fauna’complex.For the Holocene faunas the diversity indexes are nearly independent from physical conditions;theαdiversity index decreased and theβdiversity index increased.The relatively lowαdiversity and highβdiversity indexes for the present-day faunas are referred to the decrease of the population number of some forest species in historical time and the increase of the dominance of unspecialized species or the species connected with intra-zonal ecosystems.The study shows furthermore the occurrence of several East European‘centers’with a high mammal diversity,which are relatively stable during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.The orientation of the boundaries between the large geographical mammal assemblages depended,particularly in the northwestern part of Eastern Europe,on the expansion of the Scandinavian ice sheet.
