Ancient DNA reveals differences in behaviour and sociality between brown bears and extinct cave bears.

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  • Gloria G. Fortes
    University of Potsdam
  • Aurora Grandal-d'Anglade
    Universidad de A Coruña
  • Ben Kolbe
    University of Potsdam
  • Daniel Fernandes
    University College Dublin
  • Ioana N. Meleg
    Romanian Academy
  • Ana García-Vázquez
    Universidad de A Coruña
  • Ana C. Pinto-Llona
    Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid
  • Silviu Constantin
    “Emil Racoviță” Institute of Speleology, Bucharest
  • Trino J. de Torres
    Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
  • Jose E. Ortiz
    Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
  • Christine Frischauf
    University of Vienna
  • Gernot Rabeder
    University of Vienna
  • Michael Hofreiter
    University of Potsdam
  • Axel Barlow
    University of Potsdam
Ancient DNA studies have revolutionized the study of extinct species and populations, providing insights on phylogeny, phylogeography, admixture and demographic history. However, inferences on behaviour and sociality have been far less frequent. Here, we investigate the complete mitochondrial genomes of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears and middle Holocene brown bears that each inhabited multiple geographically proximate caves in northern Spain. In cave bears, we find that, although most caves were occupied simultaneously, each cave almost exclusively contains a unique lineage of closely related haplotypes. This remarkable pattern suggests extreme fidelity to their birth site in cave bears, best described as homing behaviour, and that cave bears formed stable maternal social groups at least for hibernation. In contrast, brown bears do not show any strong association of mitochondrial lineage and cave, suggesting that these two closely related species differed in aspects of their behaviour and sociality. This difference is likely to have contributed to cave bear extinction, which occurred at a time in which competition for caves between bears and humans was likely intense and the ability to rapidly colonize new hibernation sites would have been crucial for the survival of a species so dependent on caves for hibernation as cave bears. Our study demonstrates the potential of ancient DNA to uncover patterns of behaviour and sociality in ancient species and populations, even those that went extinct many tens of thousands of years ago.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4906-4918
JournalMolecular Ecology
Volume25
Issue number9
Early online date10 Aug 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2016
Externally publishedYes
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