Previous studies on extinct Pleistocene megafauna attempted to decipher species’ responses to environmental change through genetic studies and palaeodietary reconstruction. However, none of these studies addressed the issue of whether changes in palaeoecology represent evolutionary processes or are instead a result of environmentally induced plasticity. The present research project proposes novel ways of addressing the aforementioned question through an interdisciplinary approach including palaeogenomics, ancient epigenomics and palaeoecology. Modern genomes of Scandinavian brown bears have also been generated, which is of interest for the study of cave bear evolution, since brown bears carry a small percentage of cave bear DNA.
The produced dataset constitutes the most complete cave bear genome dataset ever analysed, allowing us to gain an unprecedented understanding of cave bear evolutionary history. Given that brown bears are sister species of cave bears, the brown bear dataset helps to understand to what extent the brown bear tracts in the cave bear’s genome have been adaptive. Specific conclusions will be drawn up that might be used as a basis for other palaeogenomic and palaeoenvironmental studies and also for extant relatives of the cave bear. Investigating the evolutionary implications leading to population differentiation during the extreme climate fluctuations of the Pleistocene provide insights into a species’ responses to environmental pressures with implications for the conservation and management of mammals.
