Early human impact on lake cyanobacteria revealed by a Holocene record of sedimentary ancient DNA

Affiliations

Ebuka Canisius Nwosu: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology
Achim Brauer: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution
Marie-Eve Monchamp: Department of Biology, McGill University
Sylvia Pinkerneil: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution
Alexander Bartholomäus: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology
Martin Theuerkauf: Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald
Jens-Peter Schmidt: State Authority for Culture and Preservation of Monuments of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania, State Archaeology
Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring: Polar Terrestrial Environmental System, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Theresa Wietelmann: Polar Terrestrial Environmental System, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Jerome Kaiser: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research
Dirk Wagner: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology
Susanne Liebner: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology

Abstract

Analysis of sedimentary DNA through time in a German lake shows a spike in cyanobacteria abundance coinciding with human activity in the Bronze Age.