Large land mammals and glacials/interglacials

[repoman]

For the past ~2.5 million years the earth has large ice sheets advance hold for a fairly long time and then retreat and come back more quickly. So, I am curious if there were many extinctions of the large mammals during the interglacials before this one - in which we seem to be a very likely cause of many.

Also, is there some "elasticity" to the genome of these animals? Did the large cold weather animals have very minor genetic changes or even just epigenetic changes to get smaller so they wouldn't die of heat stroke (other reasons as well) with those massive bodies in warmer climates?

 

[untermensche]

You can't make huge generalizations.

But look at dogs. A common genome yet incredibly diverse.

It clearly shows the potential "flexibility" of a single genome.

 

[Bomb#20]

Also, is there some "elasticity" to the genome of these animals? Did the large cold weather animals have very minor genetic changes or even just epigenetic changes to get smaller so they wouldn't die of heat stroke (other reasons as well) with those massive bodies in warmer climates?

From the people who brought you Jumbo Shrimp and Military Intelligence, check out Dwarf Mammoths.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Also, is there some "elasticity" to the genome of these animals? Did the large cold weather animals have very minor genetic changes or even just epigenetic changes to get smaller so they wouldn't die of heat stroke (other reasons as well) with those massive bodies in warmer climates?

From the people who brought you Jumbo Shrimp and Military Intelligence, check out Dwarf Mammoths.

I remember reading about that many years ago. Fascinating for sure.

 

[couch_sloth]

Also, is there some "elasticity" to the genome of these animals? Did the large cold weather animals have very minor genetic changes or even just epigenetic changes to get smaller so they wouldn't die of heat stroke (other reasons as well) with those massive bodies in warmer climates?

From the people who brought you Jumbo Shrimp and Military Intelligence, check out Dwarf Mammoths.

There were Pygmy Mammoth on Santa Rosa Island, off the coast of California.
Isolation on an island can do weird things to animal size, e.g. Foster's Rule.

 

[Elixir]

The vary/select/inherit algorithm can do just about anything dictated by the selective pressure, given enough trials.
Even this:
https://ti.arc.nasa.gov/m/pub-archive/1244h/1244%20%28Hornby%29.pdf