BIODIVERSITY OF VERTEBRATES AND THE DEVELOPMENT STEPPE SPACES IN THE NEOPLEISTOCENE OF KAZAKHSTAN (CENTER OF EURASIA)

Abstract

This work examines how shifts in regional and global climatic regimes during the Neopleistocene influenced both the development of steppe landscapes and the structure of fossil vertebrate diversity across the territory of Kazakhstan. Reconstruction of paleoenvironments and climate dynamics was based on palynological datasets from deposits of varying facies, which made it possible to trace transformations in vegetation and landscape conditions throughout sediment accumulation. The Neopleistocene interval was marked by alternating phases of cooling, including advances of mountain glaciations, and intervals of climatic moderation accompanied by increased humidity. On lowland territories, the effects of glacial phases expressed themselves more distinctly through intensified cooling and moisture growth. These environmental transitions shaped ecological niches and directly affected faunal composition, generally leading to a reduction in species richness through successive stages of the Neopleistocene. By the close of the Pleistocene, most representatives of the mammoth complex had disappeared, while only a limited group of taxa (saiga, moose, carnivores, brown bears, rodents) persisted and later formed the basis of the modern vertebrate fauna.