Chris Simms at New Scientist:
A rich and complex ecosystem stretching back 700,000 years that included woolly mammoths, bison, horses and big cats has been unveiled thanks to DNA preserved in frozen faeces.
Arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii) are rodents about 40 centimetres long, found in cold regions of both North America and Siberia. These areas were joined by a land bridge in the past, with the whole region being known as Beringia.
“The squirrels hibernate for about eight months of the year and in the four months that they’re conscious, they really need to get out there and eat and bring as many resources as they can back to their burrow,” says Tyler Murchie at the Hakai Institute in Campbell River, Canada.
This means their burrows often contain a wealth of faecal pellets and food caches, which makes the animals like “natural archivists”, says Murchie.
More here.
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