[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10728\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E Prehistoric animals offer new evolutionary hints as riddles persist \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the prehistoric times of Neanderthals and early modern humans, one of Europe\u2019s largest-ever bear species roamed the land and inhabited its caves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the cave bear, weighing up to one tonne, died out some 25 000 years ago. Its bones have been found in caves located from England to Russia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECompeting views\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPossible reasons for this case of animal extinction include human exploitation and climate change, with the demise coinciding with the coldest part of the last Ice Age. At this time, the cave bear may have been vulnerable as a result of an inflexible diet that excluded meat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother mystery is why today\u2019s brown bears, which are closely related to cave bears and diverged from their lineage about 1.5 million years ago, survived the same conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One explanation is that the cave bear maybe lacked flexibility in its food resources, which made it vulnerable to ecosystem changes caused by climate modifications,\u2019 said Dr Ioana Meleg, a palaeogeneticist at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work of Meleg and other scientists highlights the extraordinary difficulties involved in seeking both to explain key evolutionary moments and to draw contemporary lessons for animal survival and protection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHerbivores and omnivores\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the brown bear is omnivorous, earlier studies of the protein collagen in bones indicated the cave bear was herbivorous. As a result, it may have been unable to adapt to eating meat in cold spells when plants were scarcer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe hope of researchers is that more insight into the extinction of such species will expand knowledge about how animals as a whole adapt to environmental change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Those types of investigations are time machines that offer the opportunity to access snapshots of deep-time dynamics via ancient biomolecules,\u2019 said Meleg, who studied ecology in subterranean environments for her doctorate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, she led a European team that received EU funding to carry out genetic sequencing of cave-bear populations with varying diets, creating the most comprehensive genomic data set for the animals to date.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalled \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/885088\u0022\u003EEvolution\u003C\/a\u003E, the project ran for two years until the end of September 2022. Meleg and her colleagues are still analysing the results, some of which may be announced later this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECarpathian conundrum\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne conundrum related to the cave bear\u2019s diet persists. It\u2019s unusual for such a large terrestrial animal with carnivorous relatives to have become completely herbivorous.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThe cave bear maybe lacked flexibility in its food resources.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Ioana Meleg, Evolution\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPresent-day bears such as giant pandas that have largely or partly herbivorous diets are much smaller.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome answers may lie in cave bears that lived in Romania\u2019s Carpathian Mountains and that Meleg\u2019s team has focused on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnusual ratios of two forms of nitrogen previously found in their fossils had suggested that these animals, unlike cave bears elsewhere in Europe, may have eaten meat as well as plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut in a more recent analysis, Meleg and other researchers concluded that the finding was instead evidence of a wider plant diet than that of other cave bears. Meleg said even this would normally have been a survival advantage for the Carpathian bears.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When there seems to be ecological flexibility, you would think that would allow you to cope with whatever happens in the environment,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer team is still assessing why Romanian cave bears had a wider plant diet and why it didn\u2019t spare them from extinction.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeleg thinks it may ultimately boil down to a lack of meat in the diet even when food became scarcer, creating a greater vulnerability to extreme shifts in climate. Natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions could have compounded the plight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Strict herbivory might have made the cave bear more vulnerable to decreases in plant biomass and quality related to colder climates,\u2019 Meleg said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022A cave bear skeleton exhibited in Meziadului Cave, Apuseni Mountains, North-western Romania. \u00a9 Viorel-Traian Lascu, 2022\u0022 data-entity-type=\u0022file\u0022 data-entity-uuid=\u0022a0c4fa1b-dc14-4e7b-9368-19a9d13b3875\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/looking_at_cb_CPG_team_MeziadCave.jpg\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EA cave bear skeleton exhibited in Meziadului Cave, Apuseni Mountains, North-western Romania. \u00a9 Viorel-Traian Lascu, 2022\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETeeth samples\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFossils from the prey of extinct humans also dangle the promise for scientists of shedding light on the effects of past climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EPalaeontologists and archaeologists can provide a long-term perspective of relationships among humans, animals and the environment.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Emilie Berlioz, EnvINEx\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101064818\u0022\u003EEnvINExt\u003C\/a\u003E project, Dr Emilie Berlioz is analysing samples of ancient animal teeth from both sides of the Pyrenees, starting at Isturitz in France and La Vi\u00f1a in Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe specimens, from herbivores including red deer, reindeer, ibexes and \u0026nbsp;horses, date from between 35 000 and 57 000 years ago, according to Berlioz, a palaeontologist at the University of Cantabria in the Spanish city of Santander.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the period in question, anatomically modern humans \u2013 Homo sapiens \u2013 emerged from Africa and replaced the Neanderthals after the two species briefly coexisted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnvINExt runs for two years until the end of August 2024. Over the course of the project, Berlioz aims to study specimens from eight more locations, mainly in northern Spain. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is the project\u2019s principal investigator and expects preliminary results later this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA key method being used by Berlioz is 3D dental microwear analysis, which examines microscopic features that form on teeth and that provide information about diet in the days leading up to death.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHunting grounds\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKnowing where animals were pursued and killed gives a clearer picture of how Neanderthals lived, hunted and ate and how these activities evolved in response to climate developments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAside from climate factors, there are \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/en\/horizon-magazine\/new-archaeology-dives-mysterious-demise-neanderthals\u0022\u003Ecompeting theories\u003C\/a\u003E about why the Neanderthals disappeared around 40 000 years ago. These include interbreeding with Homo sapiens, competition for resources and disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s probably a composite answer,\u2019 said Berlioz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe believes that understanding how climate change affected Neanderthals\u2019 prey, which made up more than half their daily food intake, will help provide an explanation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeeth capture physiological, ecological and climatic information and, as a result, mirror past environments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier studies in which Berlioz participated \u2013 in the Dordogne region of France, for example \u2013 suggest that the Neanderthals continued to hunt in open, tundra-like grassland amid various climatic fluctuations that caused forests to expand and shrink, altering their value as food sources at different times. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EIn EnvINExt, she\u2019s seeking to build on this analysis to provide a fresh perspective on the environmental conditions faced by Neanderthals and their prey in this part of Europe. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy evaluating dental evidence from 10 archaeological sites, including information on feeding behaviour over seasons and years and in different habitats, the project will attempt to reveal links between local environmental conditions and global climate changes. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch resolve\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fundamental question is whether climate played a major role in the Neanderthals\u2019 disappearance or was just one factor among many.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you take a wider look at environmental variations through time during the Neanderthals\u2019 existence, they had already previously experienced tough climatic situations that they survived,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs EnvINExt seeks elusive answers to such tricky questions, Berlioz expresses no doubt about the potential value of such research for considerations about climate adaptation today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Palaeontologists and archaeologists can provide a long-term perspective of relationships among humans, animals and the environment that is complementary to the short-term approach of biologists,\u2019 Berlioz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeleg in Romania\u0026nbsp;echoed the point with regard to her project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The overarching aim is to find sustainable approaches for ecosystem resilience to help counteract biodiversity decline related to increasing anthropogenic impacts and climate change,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU via the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). 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