Coexistence, Extinction and Survival—The Evolutionary History of <scp><i>Bison</i></scp> Species in Western Eurasia

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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Publication Details

Journal
Global Change Biology
Published
2025-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70354
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Genetic diversity and population structure
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.63

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article

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

Rafał Kowalczyk, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Emilia Hofman‐Kamińska, Alan Cooper et al.
2 citations
Global Change Biology
Genetic diversity and population structure
3.63
article

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

Rafał Kowalczyk, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Emilia Hofman‐Kamińska, Alan Cooper, Chris Turney, Zoë Thomas, Dorothée G. Drucker, Holly Heiniger, Daniel Makowiecki, Hervé Bocherens, Bastien Llamas, Kieren J. Mitchell, Ayla L. van Loenen, David M. Brown, Martina Pacher
article en
2 citations

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.

Global Change BiologyVol. 31(8)
University of Technology Sydney (AU), Australian National University (AU), Queen's University Belfast (GB), Charles Sturt University (AU), Vilnius University (LT), Swiss National Museum (CH), Mammal Research Institute (PL), Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL), Vilnius University of Applied Sciences (LT), Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (DE), Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (AU), University of Southampton (GB), The University of Adelaide (AU), University of Tübingen (DE), Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (NZ), Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Australian Government, European Commission, University of Adelaide, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Narodowym Centrum Nauki
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Genetic diversity and population structure
3.63
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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