Correction: Insight into the introduction of domestic cattle and the process of Neolithization to the Spanish region Galicia by genetic evidence.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Equine diet during protohistoric times in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: Stable isotope data (C, N) from bone collagen.

The analysis of stable isotopes in bone collagen allows us to infer the diet of the animals studied. This dataset consists of isotopic signatures (δC and δN) obtained by isotope ratio mass spectrometry from the skeletal remains of 42 equines (horse, ass and their hybrids) from the Can Roqueta site (Sabadell, Northeast Iberian Peninsula). Their chronology spans from Late Bronze Age to Late Roman Period, with particular emphasis on the Early Iron Age.

Insight into the introduction of domestic cattle and the process of Neolithization to the Spanish region Galicia by genetic evidence.

Domestic cattle were brought to Spain by early settlers and agricultural societies. Due to missing Neolithic sites in the Spanish region of Galicia, very little is known about this process in this region. We sampled 18 cattle subfossils from different ages and different mountain caves in Galicia, of which 11 were subject to sequencing of the mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis, to provide insight into the introduction of cattle to this region.

Biomechanical simulations reveal a trade-off between adaptation to glacial climate and dietary niche versatility in European cave bears.

The cave bear is one of the best known extinct large mammals that inhabited Europe during the "Ice Age," becoming extinct ≈24,000 years ago along with other members of the Pleistocene megafauna. Long-standing hypotheses speculate that many cave bears died during their long hibernation periods, which were necessary to overcome the severe and prolonged winters of the Last Glacial. Here, we investigate how long hibernation periods in cave bears would have directly affected their feeding biomechanics using CT-based biomechanical simulations of skulls of cave and extant bears.

Partial genomic survival of cave bears in living brown bears.

Although many large mammal species went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, their DNA may persist due to past episodes of interspecies admixture. However, direct empirical evidence of the persistence of ancient alleles remains scarce. Here, we present multifold coverage genomic data from four Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus complex) and show that cave bears hybridized with brown bears (Ursus arctos) during the Pleistocene.

Mitochondrial DNA of pre-last glacial maximum red deer from NW Spain suggests a more complex phylogeographical history for the species.

The major climatic oscillations that characterized the Quaternary had a great influence on the evolution and distribution of several species. During cold periods, the distribution of temperate-adapted species became fragmented with many surviving in southern refugia (Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas). Red deer was one of the species that contracted its original range to southern refugia.

Paleogenomic Evidence for Multi-generational Mixing between Neolithic Farmers and Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers in the Lower Danube Basin.

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming involved profound cultural and technological changes. In Western and Central Europe, these changes occurred rapidly and synchronously after the arrival of early farmers of Anatolian origin [1-3], who largely replaced the local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers [1, 4-6]. Further east, in the Baltic region, the transition was gradual, with little or no genetic input from incoming farmers [7].

Ancient DNA reveals differences in behaviour and sociality between brown bears and extinct cave bears.

Ancient DNA studies have revolutionized the study of extinct species and populations, providing insights on phylogeny, phylogeography, admixture and demographic history. However, inferences on behaviour and sociality have been far less frequent. Here, we investigate the complete mitochondrial genomes of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears and middle Holocene brown bears that each inhabited multiple geographically proximate caves in northern Spain.

Pitfalls in comparing modern hair and fossil bone collagen C and N isotopic data to reconstruct ancient diets: a case study with cave bears (Ursus spelaeus).

Stable isotope analyses provide one of the few means to evaluate diet of extinct taxa. However, interpreting isotope data from bone collagen of extinct animals based on isotopic patterns in different tissues of modern animal proxies is precarious. For example, three corrections are needed before making comparisons of recent hair and ancient bone collagen: calibration of carbon-13 variations in atmospheric CO2, different isotopic discrimination between diet-hair keratin and diet-bone collagen, and time averaging of bone collagen versus short-term record in hair keratin.

Withering away--25,000 years of genetic decline preceded cave bear extinction.

The causes of the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions are still enigmatic. Although the fossil record can provide approximations for when a species went extinct, the timing of its disappearance alone cannot resolve the causes and mode of the decline preceding its extinction. However, ancient DNA analyses can reveal population size changes over time and narrow down potential causes of extinction.