Aim Taxonomic identification, population demographics and genetic structure reconstruction of the historical Lake Ladoga sturgeon population, followed by assessment of admixture and gene flow of Atlantic and European sturgeons within the Baltic and broader European context. Location Archaeological site at Staraya Ladoga (Zemlyanoe Gorodishche), encompassing samples from Lake Ladoga and the Volkhov River in north‐western Russia...

Aim Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter‐gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigated which climatic and/or environmental factors affect the population dynamic...

There is a widespread belief that the abrupt warming at 14.7 ka had a profound impact on the environment. However, the direct correlation between the global climatic event and changes in local environments is not obvious. We examined faunal succession in an intra-mountain basin of the Western Carpathians to assess the potential influence of the climatic change between Greenland Stadial-2a and Greenland Interstadial-1e on the l...

Recent palaeogenetic studies indicate a highly dynamic history in collared lemmings ( Dicrostonyx spp.), with several demographical changes linked to climatic fluctuations that took place during the last glaciation. At the western range margin of D. torquatus , these changes were characterized by a series of local extinctions and recolonizations. However, it is unclear whether this pattern represents a local phenomenon, possib...

The Pleistocene glacial cycles resulted in significant changes in species distributions, and it has been discussed whether this caused increased rates of population divergence and speciation. One species that is likely to have evolved during the Pleistocene is the Norwegian lemming ( L emmus lemmus ). However, the origin of this species, both in terms of when and from what ancestral taxon it evolved, has been difficult to asce...