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      Rewriting the history of an extinction—was a population of Steller's sea cows ( Hydrodamalis gigas ) at St Lawrence Island also driven to extinction?

      1 , 2 , 3 ,   4
      Biology Letters
      The Royal Society

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          Abstract

          The Kommandorskiye Islands population of Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was extirpated ca 1768 CE. Until now, Steller's sea cow was thought to be restricted in historic times to Bering and Copper Islands, Russia, with other records in the last millennium from the western Aleutian Islands. However, Steller's sea cow bone has been obtained by the authors from St Lawrence Island, Alaska, which is significantly further north. Bone identity was verified using analysis of mitochondrial DNA. The nitrogen-15 (δ(15)N)/carbon-13 (δ(13)C) values for bone samples from St Lawrence Island were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) different from Bering Island samples, indicating a second population. Bone samples were dated to between 1030 and 1150 BP (approx. 800-920 CE). The samples date from close to the beginning of the mediaeval warm period, which could indicate that the population at St Lawrence Island was driven to extinction by climate change. A warming of the climate in the area may have changed the availability of kelp; alternatively or in addition, the animals may have been driven to extinction by the expansion of the Inuit from the Bering Strait region, possibly due to opening waterways, maybe following bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), or searching for iron and copper. This study provides evidence for a previously unknown population of sea cows in the North Pacific within the past 1000 years and a second Steller's sea cow extirpation event in recent history.

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          Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals

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            Stable nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen reflect marine and terrestrial components of prehistoric human diet.

            The delta 15N values of bone collagen from Eskimos and from Northwest Coast Indians dependent on salmon fishing are about 10 per mil more positive than those from agriculturalists in historic times. Among prehistoric humans, two groups dependent on marine food sources show bone collagen delta 15N values that are 4 to 6 per mil more positive than those from two agricultural groups. The nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen from prehistoric inhabitants of the Bahamas are anomalously low for reasons that relate to the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen in coral reefs.
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              Ancient DNA extraction from bones and teeth.

              This method is designed to maximize recovery of PCR-amplifiable DNA from ancient bone and teeth specimens and at the same time to minimize co-extraction of substances that inhibit PCR. This is achieved by a combination of DNA extraction from bone powder using a buffer consisting solely of EDTA and proteinase K, and purification of the DNA by binding to silica in the presence of high concentrations of guanidinium thiocyanate. All steps are performed at room temperature (20-23 degrees C), thereby reducing further degradation of the already damaged and fragile ancient DNA and providing an optimal trade-off between DNA release and degradation. Furthermore, the purification step removes most of the various types of PCR inhibitors present in ancient bone samples, thereby optimizing the amount of ancient DNA available for subsequent enzymatic manipulation, such as PCR amplification. The protocol presented here allows DNA extraction from ancient bone and teeth with a minimum of working steps and equipment and yields DNA extracts within 2 working days.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Biology Letters
                Biol. Lett.
                The Royal Society
                1744-9561
                1744-957X
                November 2014
                November 30 2014
                November 2014
                November 30 2014
                : 10
                : 11
                : 20140878
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
                [2 ]Prestigious Enterprises, Annandale, VA 22003, USA
                [3 ]Department of Anatomy, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA
                [4 ]Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
                Article
                10.1098/rsbl.2014.0878
                4261872
                25428930
                37e0d2e9-8175-4201-90ec-39a60d8a143b
                © 2014
                History

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