Sustainability insights from Late Pleistocene climate change and horse migration patterns

Climate affects habitat, food availability, and the movement and sustainability of all life. In this work, we apply Indigenous and Western scientific methods, including genomics and isotope profiling, on fossils from across Beringia to explore the effect of climate change on horses. We find that Late Pleistocene horses from Alaska and northern Yukon are related to populations from Eurasia and crossed the Bering land bridge multiple times during the last glacial interval. We also find deeply divergent lineages north and south of the American ice sheets that genetically influenced populations across Beringia and into Eurasia. As climate warmed and horses entered the ice-free corridor connecting Beringia and midcontinental America, restricted mobility and food availability impeded population growth. Our combined Western and Indigenous framework offers critical guidance for wildlife conservation amid ongoing climate change.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2025-05-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr2355
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
12.01
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article

Sustainability insights from Late Pleistocene climate change and horse migration patterns

А. Тишкин, Grant D. Zazula, Andaine Seguin‐Orlando, Mariya A. Kusliy et al.
7 citations
Science
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
12.01
article

Sustainability insights from Late Pleistocene climate change and horse migration patterns

А. Тишкин, Grant D. Zazula, Andaine Seguin‐Orlando, Mariya A. Kusliy, Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Joshua H. Miller, Eve E. Lindroos, Bill Means, Akil Nujipi, Barbara Dull Knife, DUANE G. FROESE, Matthew J. Wooller, Wakiƞyala Wiƞ, Pamela Groves, Beth Leonard, Ludovic Orlando, Christopher N. Jass, Beth Shapiro, S.K. Vasiliev, Zoe Landry, Aude Perdereau, Loreleï Chauvey, John Southon, Joshua D. Kapp, Stéphanie Schiavinato, Wilson Justin, Brooke E. Crowley, Laure Tonasso‐Calvière, Patrick S. Druckenmiller, Michael Koskey, Gaétan Tressières, Clément P. Bataille, Yvette Running Horse Collin, Mila Hunska Tašunke Icu, Samantha N. Hershauer, Anpetu Luta Wiƞ, Jean‐Marc Aury, Christina I. Barrón-Ortiz, Elizabeth Hall, R. D. E. MacPhee, Cruz Tecumseh Collin, Tanka Omniya, Danielle Fraser, Pedro H. Oliveira, Susan Hewitson, Dan C. Mann, Mario González, Alexander S. Graphodatsky, Auguste Hassler, Ian Barnes, Irina Kirillova, Patrick Wincker, Beatle Soop, Jane Stelkia, James Aaron Stelkia
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Climate affects habitat, food availability, and the movement and sustainability of all life. In this work, we apply Indigenous and Western scientific methods, including genomics and isotope profiling, on fossils from across Beringia to explore the effect of climate change on horses. We find that Late Pleistocene horses from Alaska and northern Yukon are related to populations from Eurasia and crossed the Bering land bridge multiple times during the last glacial interval. We also find deeply divergent lineages north and south of the American ice sheets that genetically influenced populations across Beringia and into Eurasia. As climate warmed and horses entered the ice-free corridor connecting Beringia and midcontinental America, restricted mobility and food availability impeded population growth. Our combined Western and Indigenous framework offers critical guidance for wildlife conservation amid ongoing climate change.

ScienceVol. 388(6748)
Alaska Pacific University (US), Oglala Lakota College (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Natural History Museum (GB), American Museum of Natural History (US), National Museum of Natural History (US), University of Alaska Fairbanks (US), University of Ottawa (CA), University of Alberta (CA), Altai State University (RU), Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), University of Aberdeen (GB), Okanagan College (CA), University of California, Irvine (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Blackstone (United States) (US), Royal Alberta Museum (CA), Age Stiftung (CH), Genoscope (FR), Canadian Museum of Nature (CA), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (RU), Arctic Slope Regional (United States) (US), Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RU), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (US), Yukon Health and Social Services (CA), Higher Institute of Business Administration (SY), Horse Hospital (GB), Yukon Department of Environment (CA), Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (RU), University of Cincinnati (US), Carleton University (CA)
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
12.01
DOISourceOpenAlex
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