Musk Ox Population Decline Due to Climate, Not to Humans, Study Finds (2 of 2) (IMAGE)
Caption
The photo depicts an ancient musk ox skull located at the Ice Age Museum in the Taymyr Peninsula of Siberia. Scientists used ancient musk ox bones, like the one in the photo, to test for human impacts on musk ox populations. The scientists discovered that the drastic decline in Arctic musk ox populations that began roughly 12,000 years ago was due to a warming climate rather than to human hunting. The research is the first study to use ancient musk ox DNA collected from across the animal's former geographic range to test for human impacts on musk ox populations. The research is published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sometime during the week ending Friday March 12.
Credit
Tom Gilbert, University of Copenhagen
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