Paleoecology of the Large-Mammal Community in Interior Alaska during the Late Pleistocene

Abstract

This study of the paleoecology of 4 fossil assemblages of large mammals from the Late Pleistocene sediments near Fairbanks, Alaska, emphasizes the structure, composition, habitat, and the pattern of subsequent extinction of the community. All 4 faunas were composed predominantly of grazers. Bison, horse, and mammoth were the most common species. Many component species of this complex community of large mammals became extinct near the close of the Wisconsin glaciation, leaving the comparatively depauperate community that exists in Alaska today. The high percentage of grazers in the fossil community suggests that interior Alaska was a grassland environment during the Late Pleistocene.