Faunal and Floral Assemblages from the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition of Anyu Cave in the Northern Urals

The small mammal fauna and vegetation dynamics of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the Northern Urals is examined based on palaeontological studies of the sediments of Anyu cave. Three layers were identified in the section of loose sediments of the cave, two of them with vertebrate skeletal remains. The faunal assemblage of layer III is indicative of the composition and ecological structure of the Late Glacial microtheriofauna, while the faunal remains of layer II are attributed to the Early Holocene. During the transition from the Late Glacial to the Early Holocene, the area around the cave was dominated by thickets of dwarf birch, alternating with birch woods, sometimes swampy, and small meadows. The small mammal community of this interval was dominated by tundra and tundra-steppe species, accounting for more than 45% of all remains, and the steppe pika was a common species. In the Early Holocene, as a consequence of climate warming, the principal species in the small mammal community changed from tundra to forest taxa. The steppe pika disappeared from the microtheriofauna, while the proportion of the narrow-headed vole remained constant. The vegetation consisted of herbaceous thickets and birch forests with a minor presence of pine.