Ancient sedimentary DNA reveals a more biodiverse ancient Ireland.

Ancient sedimentary DNA reveals a more biodiverse ancient Ireland. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Ancient sedimentary DNA reveals a more biodiverse ancient Ireland. Andrew Tighe, Ryan Smazal, Jeanette Carlsson, Bernard Ball, Aaron Potito, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6081359/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The island of Ireland has been highlighted as one of the most nature depleted areas on Earth1, however it has significant potential for largescale nature restoration2. However, there remains uncertainty around which species naturally colonized Ireland after the last glacial maximum period, particularly large herbivores3. This study reports an ancient sedimentary DNA record from the Mesolithic in Ireland (10,000 years ago) up to the present day, from a lake core taken at Lough Feeagh, in the West of Ireland. The plant DNA results reveal a changing landscape, with hazel and oak being dominant in the early Holocene, with the highest diversity of tree species in the Bronze age, and also builds on previous work suggesting hornbeam may be a native tree. The mammalian DNA detected confirms many known Irish species such as red deer, wild boar and wood mouse, and suggests the later survival of some arctic fauna into the Holocene, namely reindeer and arctic fox. It also suggests the possible presence of aurochs in early Holocene Ireland. Aurochs were keystone species in ancient Europe4, but definitive evidence of their presence in Ireland has previously been lacking. Additionally, the DNA record for fish confirms a number of known species, such as Atlantic salmon and stickleback, but also suggests that pike may have been in Ireland earlier than conventionally accepted. These findings open up new possibilities for the restoration of nature in Ireland, revealing a more biodiverse baseline for restoration efforts to benchmark against Biological sciences/Ecology/Palaeoecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Palaeoecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6081359","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":425565051,"identity":"25d2b3db-43c4-48bd-af2e-af8380fed669","order_by":0,"name":"Andrew 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However, there remains \u0026nbsp;uncertainty around which species naturally colonized Ireland after the last glacial maximum period, particularly large herbivores3. This study reports an ancient sedimentary DNA record \u0026nbsp;from the Mesolithic in Ireland (10,000 years ago) up to the present day, from a lake core taken \u0026nbsp;at Lough Feeagh, in the West of Ireland. The plant DNA results reveal a changing landscape, \u0026nbsp;with hazel and oak being dominant in the early Holocene, with the highest diversity of tree \u0026nbsp;species in the Bronze age, and also builds on previous work suggesting hornbeam may be a \u0026nbsp;native tree. The mammalian DNA detected confirms many known Irish species such as red \u0026nbsp;deer, wild boar and wood mouse, and suggests the later survival of some arctic fauna into the \u0026nbsp;Holocene, namely reindeer and arctic fox. It also suggests the possible presence of aurochs in early Holocene Ireland. Aurochs were keystone species in ancient Europe4, but definitive evidence of their presence in Ireland has previously been lacking. Additionally, the DNA record \u0026nbsp;for fish confirms a number of known species, such as Atlantic salmon and stickleback, but also \u0026nbsp;suggests that pike may have been in Ireland earlier than conventionally accepted. 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