Researchers have successfully reconstructed the genetic codes of woolly mammoths, horses, steppe bison, and ground squirrels that inhabited the grasslands of the Canadian Arctic during the last ice age. This feat was accomplished by studying the DNA extracted from frozen squirrel excrement discovered in the Yukon region.
The fossilized feces, rich in DNA from various animals such as wolves, predatory cats, mammoths, and birds, as well as from over 200 plant species, including sages and sedges, were detailed in a recent study published in Nature Communications.
“Our research enabled us to capture a comprehensive snapshot of the entire ecosystem, encompassing megafauna, plants, fungi, insects, and a diverse array of microorganisms,” stated Tyler Murchie, the lead author of the study and a scientist at the Hakai Institute in Campbell River, B.C.
Did you know that ground squirrels unwittingly served as archivists of the ice age? A recent study on thawing permafrost in the Yukon revealed that these ancient rodents preserved remnants of plants, seeds, and bones in their burrows dating back as far as 17,000 to 700,000 years ago.
Preservation Through Waste
For centuries, Arctic ground squirrels have been constructing burrows that include specialized chambers for waste disposal.
These waste-filled chambers have been gradually emerging from valley walls along rivers. Researchers in the Yukon have diligently collected and safeguarded these burrows, which contain various artifacts, including plant fragments, bones, and insects that were gathered by the squirrels between 30,000 and 700,000 years ago.
Murchie commented on the squirrels’ behavior, stating, “They act as natural archivists by accumulating a wide range of items in their dens, exhibiting a broad dietary spectrum and concentrating their waste in specific locations.”