Abstract
UNDERSTANDING the environment of the Bering land bridge and determining the timing of late Wisconsin inundation are important for several areas of study. These include: (1) the timing of the re-establishment of circulation between Pacific and Atlantic Oceans; (2) the timing of development of a northern biotic refugium and the closing of the bridge to species immigration; (3) Palaeoindian migration routes; and (4) palaeotopographic data for atmospheric general circulation models1. Late Wisconsin palaeobotanical and fossil insect data from the central and northern sectors of the Bering land bridge indicate widespread mesic shrub tundra environments even during the last glacial maximum. Contrary to previous hypotheses, we found no evidence of steppe tundra on the land bridge. New accelerator mass spectrometer 14C dates show much of the land bridge was above sea level and thus available for human and animal migration until 11,000 yr BP. Insect evidence suggests that summer temperatures at that time were substantially warmer than now.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Peltier, W. R. Science 265, 195–201 (1994).
Colinvaux, P. Quat. Res. 16, 18–36 (1981).
Cwynar, L. C. & Ritchie, J. C. Science 208, 1375–1377 (1980).
Guthrie, R. D. Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1990).
Ritchie, J. C. Past and Present Vegetation of the Far Northwest of Canada (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1984).
Elias, S. A., Short, S. K. & Phillips, R. L. Quat. Res. 38, 371–378 (1992).
McManus, D. A. & Creager, J. S. Quat. Res. 21, 317–325 (1984).
Nelson, C. H. Geol. Mijnbouw 61, 5–18 (1982).
Chapell, J. & Polach, H. Nature 349, 147–149 (1991).
Edwards, R. L. et al. Science 260, 962–968 (1993).
Mann, D. H. & Peteet, D. M. Quat. Res. 42, 136–148 (1994).
Fairbanks, R. G. Nature 342, 637–647 (1989).
Hopkins, D. M., Nelson, C. H., Perry, R. B. & Alpha, T. R. US Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 759-B (1976).
Holmes, M. L. thesis, Univ. of Washington (1975).
Livingstone, D. A. Ecology 36, 587–600 (1955).
Anderson, P. M., Bartlein, P. J. & Brubaker, L. Quat. Res. 41, 306–315 (1994).
Lea, P. D., Elias, S. A. & Short, S. K. Arct. Alp. Res. 23, 375–391 (1991).
Elias, S. A. Arct. Alp. Res. 24, 133–144 (1992).
Matthews, J. V. in Paleoecology of Beringia (eds Hopkins, D. M., Matthews, J. V. Jr, Schweger, C. E. & Young, S. B.) 127–150 (Academic, New York, 1982).
Lindroth, C. H. Opusc. Entomol. Suppl. 24, 201–408 (1963).
Lindroth, C. H. Opusc. Entomol. Suppl. 20, 1–200 (1961).
Campbell, J. M. Can. Entomol. 116, 487–527 (1984).
Campbell, J. M. Can. Entomol. 115, 361–370 (1983).
Campbell, J. M. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can. 109, 1–95 (1979).
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climatography of the United States. Monthly Normals of Temperature, Precipitation, and Heat and Cooling Degree Days by State, 1951–1980 (Washington DC, 1982).
Bartlein, P. J., Anderson, P. M., Edwards, M. E. & McDowell, P. F. Quat. Internat. 10–12, 73–83 (1991).
Matthews, J. V. Jr Geol. Surv. Can. Pap. 75-1B, 139–146 (1975).
Wilson, M. J. & Elias, S. A. Arctic 39, 150–157 (1986).
Nelson, R. E. & Carter, L. D. Arct. Alp. Res. 19, 230–241 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elias, S., Short, S., Nelson, C. et al. Life and times of the Bering land bridge. Nature 382, 60–63 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382060a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/382060a0
This article is cited by
-
Biogeography of Beringian fishes after the molecular revolution and into the post-genomics era
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2024)
-
Universal thermal climate index in the Arctic in an era of climate change: Alaska and Chukotka as a case study
International Journal of Biometeorology (2023)
-
The role of Arctic gateways on sea ice and circulation in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans: a sensitivity study with an ocean-sea-ice model
Climate Dynamics (2021)
-
Origins and diversity of the Bering Sea Island fauna: shifting linkages across the northern continents
Biodiversity and Conservation (2021)
-
Examination of saffron cod Eleginus gracilis (Tilesius 1810) population genetic structure
Polar Biology (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.