AGENDEER (HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF)

Start date: 1 September 2024

End date: 31 August 2026

Project summary

The Late Quaternary extinction event caused a major loss of biodiversity with the global disappearance of several large terrestrial mammals. Ancient DNA studies of extinct lineages dated before the Late Pleistocene-Holocene boundary suggest that this event may have been the result of repetitive climatic changes that fragmented large mammal populations, making them more vulnerable to increased human activities. Current climate change and human impacts on ecosystems may lead to similar extinction scenarios. The red deer (Cervus elaphus) represents one of the few taxa that survived the extinction of the Quaternary megafauna, and the fossil record suggests that its lineage has been continuously present for almost 1 Ma in the Iberian Peninsula, where it acted as a refuge during intense glaciers. The aim of AGENDEER is to provide data on the genetic structure and niche occupancy of southern European fossil deer populations before and after the Late Quaternary extinction event. Through palaeogenetic and dietary behavioural analyses, as well as a pilot palaeoproteomic study, AGENDEER will investigate which winning strategies (palaeobiological and palaeoecological) allowed Cervus elaphus not to disappear like other megafaunal populations.  The results will be fundamental for understanding the survival and adaptive capacity of one of the most important species of Europe's natural heritage, providing new information for the proper management of the species.

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