Diversity lost: are all Holarctic large mammal

species just relict populations?

Abstract
Population genetic analyses of Eurasian wolves suggest that a major genetic
turnover took place after the Pleistocene.
Unraveling the population history of a species is tricky business. The only archives
left are the fossil record and the traces that population processes have left in the
species' gene pool, but both are ultimately unsatisfactory when it comes to
addressing how organisms deal with change.
The analysis of ancient DNA has brought together two fields of research, allowing us
to compare current and past populations, with a timescale of around 50,000 to
100,000 years. The megafaunal extinctions that began at the end of the Pleistocene
are well studied.
Ancient DNA can help us understand how species that survived the Late Pleistocene
extinctions experienced population loss or replacement.
A study on Eurasian wolves found that the genetic diversity of the species was much
higher during the Pleistocene and Holocene than it is today, and that the wolf
population that disappeared from North America preyed on Pleistocene megafaunal
species that became rare at the beginning of the Holocene.

Diversity losses inferred from ancient DNA

Ancient DNA analyses have revealed a lot about changes in the genetic makeup of
populations over time. Modern DNA analyses miss events such as haplogroup
extinctions.
In 2002, the first study was published on brown bears from Alaska and Canada. This
study demonstrated that brown bears suffered a haplogroup extinction event around
35,000 years ago, and that European brown bears suffered a substantial loss of
genetic diversity before and during the Holocene.

Ecological factors in diversity loss

We know very little about the potential factors that drive reduction in genetic diversity
for the extant large mammals of the northern continents, and the causes of
megafaunal extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene are also still unresolved. These
data suggest that Pleistocene wolves preyed on megafaunal species, specifically
horses and large bovids, and that the disappearance of their prey caused the
extinction of wolf haplogroup 1 in North America.
Although wolves are usually highly mobile, ecological factors, including
specializations on certain prey, seem to play an important role in shaping the
geographical structure of genetic diversity in extant wolf populations.
Losing ecomorphological and genetic diversity
Carnivores have lost a large part of their genetic diversity, and bison and horses
have also become homogeneous. However, a recent ancient DNA study suggests
that the morphological range of extinct horse species was much larger than has
been assumed.
Extant species are depleted in both genetic and ecomorphological diversity when
compared with their Pleistocene counterparts, but this is not surprising given that the
last glaciation ended 10,000 years ago.

Biodiversity during the Pleistocene, today and in the future

Although we have undoubtedly lost a lot of biodiversity, some surviving species may
also have lower genetic diversity than they had during the Pleistocene. Yet despite
this, many species were extremely successful during the Holocene.
Converting this observation into conservation policy requires a more extensive
discussion between paleontologists, conservation biologists and ancient DNA
specialists. Perhaps the best way to preserve biodiversity is to encourage species to
colonize as broad a habitat as naturally possible.