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Paleoecology of Beringian “packrat” middens from central Yukon Territory, Canada |
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| Authors: | Grant D Zazula Duane G Froese |
| Institution: | a Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6 b Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E1 c Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONT, Canada M5S 1A1 d Cryptogamic Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E1 |
| Abstract: | Rodent middens from ice-rich loess deposits are important new paleoenvironmental archives for Eastern Beringia. Plant macrofossils recovered from three middens associated with Dawson tephra (ca. 24,000 14C yr B.P.) at two sites in Yukon Territory include diverse graminoids, forbs, and mosses. These data suggest substantial local scale floristic and habitat diversity in valley settings, including steppe-tundra on well-drained soils, moist streamside meadows, and hydric habitats. Fossil arctic ground squirrel burrows and nesting sites indicate that permafrost active layers were thicker during Pleistocene glacial periods than at present on north-facing slopes. |
| Keywords: | Beringia Pleistocene Plant macrofossils Spermophilus parryii Microtine rodents Herbivory Permafrost Loess Paleoecology |
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