About
133
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
June 2019 - December 2021
November 2016 - February 2017
University of Miami
Position
- Fulbright Senior Fellow
May 2015 - August 2015
Education
November 1998 - May 2001
April 1994 - May 2003
January 1993 - June 1994
Publications
Publications (133)
Neanderthals are thought to have disappeared in Europe approximately 39,000-41,000 years ago but they have contributed 1-3% of the DNA of present-day people in Eurasia. Here we analyse DNA from a 37,000-42,000-year-old modern human from Peştera cu Oase, Romania. Although the specimen contains small amounts of human DNA, we use an enrichment strateg...
In 1965, Ciur-Izbuc Cave in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania was discovered to contain about 400 ancient human footprints. At that time, researchers interpreted the footprints to be those of a man, woman and child who entered the cave by an opening which is now blocked but which was usable in antiquity. The age of the prints (≈10–15 ka BP) was b...
The Ursilor Cave (NW Romania) is a famous cave bear paleontological site hosting an important Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage and subject to systematic excavation works. To better understand the origin of fossil assemblages, the sedimentary history of the cave must be reconstructed. We conducted a series of investigations on various cave deposit...
Modern humans arrived in Europe ~45,000 years ago, but little is known about their genetic composition before the start of farming ~8,500 years ago. Here we analyse genome-wide data from 51 Eurasians from ~45,000-7,000 years ago. Over this time, the proportion of Neanderthal DNA decreased from 3-6% to around 2%, consistent with natural selection ag...
Fossil invertebrates from cave sediments have
been recently described as a potential new proxy for paleoenvironment
and used in cross-correlations with alternate proxy
records from cave deposits. Here we present the results of a
fossil invertebrates study in four caves from two climatically
different regions of the Romanian Carpathians, to compleme...
A recent palaeontological excavation in Muierilor Cave, southern Carpathians (Romania), has recovered one of the largest populations of Late Pleistocene wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758; MNI =25) documented in Eurasian cave deposits. Many individual nests with wolf bones, including fully articulated skeletons, were found in a remote passage of th...
Recent advancements in MC-ICPMS technology have significantly enhanced the application of U/Th geochronometry in both biogenic and chemically precipitated carbonate rocks of almost middle Pleistocene to upper Holocene. This burgeoning use, particularly in the study of late Pleistocene earth surface processes, underscores the need for standardized r...
Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been recognized as being predominantly herbivorous. However, RomanianCarpathian cave bears have displayed a flexible diet based on a wide range of δ15N values. In this work, weanalyse 97 lower first molars of Ursus spelaeus and contemporaneous Ursus arctos from different sites in thisregion, using dental microwear a...
A new potential speleothem standard (BSS2) for MC ICP MS analysis.
Bat species inhabit subterranean environments (e.g., caves and mines) in small areas with specific microclimatic conditions, during various periods of their life cycle. Bats can be negatively influenced by microclimatic changes within their roosts if optimal habitat patches become unavailable. Therefore, proper management solutions must be applied...
Muierilor Cave is one of the most important caves in Romania from paleontological, biological, and archaeological points of view. A newly discovered chamber, with unique yellow calcite crystals, fine-grained crusts, and black sediments, is connected to the upper levels that contains fossil bones and a large pile of guano. Samples were taken from th...
Muierilor Cave is one of Romania’s most important show caves, with paleontological and archeological deposits. Recently, a new chamber was discovered in the cave, with unique yellow calcite crystals, fine-grained crusts, and black sediments. The deposits in this chamber were related to a leaking process from the upper level that contains fossil bon...
Over the last thousands of years, human impact led to significant changes in the landscape, with impacts on the environment and the functioning of the ecosystems. We assumed that even small human settlements developed around water bodies might have a substantial impact that surpasses the natural cycles of climate change in an area, especially linke...
The aim of the study was to develop the hydrogeochemical profiling of caves based on the elemental composition of water and silty soil samples and a multivariate statistical analysis. Major and trace elements, including rare earths, were determined in the water and soil samples. The general characteristics of water, anions content, inorganic and or...
Modern humans appeared in Europe by at least 45,000 years ago1–5, but the extent of their interactions with Neanderthals, who disappeared by about 40,000 years ago6, and their relationship to the broader expansion of modern humans outside Africa are poorly understood. Here we present genome-wide data from three individuals dated to between 45,930 a...
(1) Background: Show caves are unique natural attractions and touristic traffic can trigger their degradation within a short time. There are no universal solutions to counter the effects of the touristic impact upon the cave environment and both protection protocols and management plans have to be established on a case-by-case basis. (2) Methods: T...
Caves often hold valuable palaeoclimate archives including speleothems, fossil remains, and clastic sediments that complement each other. This paper presents a multi-archive interdisciplinary study of an extensive deposit of fossil mammals from the scientific reserve in the Muierilor Cave, Southern Carpathians, Romania. We present two new palaeonto...
The eastern part of Romania, bordering on the Black Sea, is generally poor in speleothems and only Piatra Cave has important speleothem occurrences. This cave is positioned close to the present-day shoreline, forcing the local aquifer to completely flood it when it rose synchronously with sea level. The flooding of the cave prevented speleothem for...
The aim of this study was to monitor factors affecting the microorganisms of water bodies in caves and apply the findings to improve their management. Four show-caves in Romania were sampled monthly to obtain an overview of the changes occurring in the fungal and bacterial communities of cave waters in relation to surface and underground impacts. T...
Trace element to Ca ratios in speleothems have emerged as important proxies that reflect local environmental conditions. However, interpretations of speleothem trace element records can be challenging due to various processes. Positive correlations between speleothem Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca have often been interpreted to reflect prior calcite precipitation...
Although quantitative isotope data from speleothems has been used to evaluate isotope-enabled model simulations, currently no consensus exists regarding the most appropriate methodology through which to achieve this. A number of modelling groups will be running isotope-enabled palaeoclimate simulations in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercom...
The Romanian Carpathians act as a geomorphological barrier between different atmospheric circulation systems over Central and Eastern Europe; the NW of Romania lies under the remote influence of the North Atlantic oscillation, while the NE is influenced by the Arctic climate. In NW Romania, previous stable isotope studies of speleothems have not yi...
The human impact upon the subterranean microbiomes is not only a peril to the cave environment but might also affect future visitors. We focused on the changes that humans induced on the surfaces they came in direct or indirect contact with inside two intensely visited Romanian show caves, by means of commercially available microbial rapid test kit...
Millimeter-scale growth rings in canine dentine of MIS 3 cave bears have been interpreted as annual growth bands produced, in part, by seasonal variation in growth rate. We present new intra-tooth stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope profiles in dentine hydroxylapatite of early forming permanent teeth, from three famous Late Pleistocene c...
Ponor-Plopa is a tiered karst system developed along a small underground stream that includes five sumps. While part of the system was known and visited for a long time, the sections located beyond the sumps were only explored in the last decades. These sections became known for their rich paleontological deposit, including remains of cave bear and...
Speleothem records have been successfully calibrated against instrumental data, e.g., using stable oxygen isotope or annual growth lamina data considered as reliable recorders of air temperature or precipitation amount. We present the first high-resolution trace element (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) record providing the potential for quantitative climate r...
Air microbial pollution in touristic areas poses a risk for both the integrity of an ecosystem and human health. Microbiological monitoring together with environmental parameters monitoring allows for the assessment of the impacts and formulation of sound management decisions to protect humans and ecosystems. Four show caves from the Carpathian Mou...
The Zăton Lake is a closed depressionlocated in the Ponoarele karst area (south-western Romania) formed along a tectonic-erosional window as a NE-SW corridor (250–450 m a.s.l.). In this area Mesozoic sedimentary rocks outcrop, along with the metamorphic basement of the Danubian Domain of the Southern Carpathians. The entire river basin is drained u...
The aim of this study was to better understand the unsaturated zone of a karst massif habitat for aquatic fauna by defining patterns of cave drip flow rates. Dripping was logged over a period of four years at three points inside Ciur‐Izbuc Cave (north‐western Romania). Drip rates have been analyzed at different scales, and also compared to rainfall...
In many countries, caves can pose an economic interest for the authorities and stakeholders. The development of a show cave requires, apart from the conservation issues, to ensure the human safety by minimising the exposure to radon for cave personnel and visitors. Radon levels can vary widely from cave to cave, being directly correlated with diffe...
Current knowledge of caves and karst regions of Ecuador is scarce and broadly limited to discrete areas such as that of the Galápagos volcanokarst. In continental Ecuador, carbonate karst mostly outcrops in the Amazonian basin and accounts for 5–10% of the surface of the country. However, owing to the difficulties of access within the Amazonian rai...
The palaeoichnology of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, was studied at Urşilor Cave, Apuseni Mountains, Romania, to acquire new data about the ethology and the metrics of this extinct species. Eight stations containing footprints, scratch marks and nests were surveyed using laser scanning to build tridimensional models for several cave bear nests, wa...
Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been considered to be largely vegetarian, although stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N values) from the Romanian Carpathians has suggested considerable dietary variation. Here we evaluate previous and additional adult cave bear isotopic data from four Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) sites in...
Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been considered to be largely vegetarian, although stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N values) from the Romanian Carpathians has suggested considerable dietary variation. Here we evaluate previous and additional adult cave bear isotopic data from four Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) sites in...
Measurements have been carried out using four types of passive detectors in four of the most popular show caves in Romania. Three types of detectors (RSKS, RadTrak and CD) were used for radon measurements and two (Raduet and CD) for thoron measurement. Activity concentrations in air were measured in the same locations for two seasons, autumn and wi...
Near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, populations of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) were distributed across parts of three continents, from western Europe and northern Asia through Beringia to the Atlantic seaboard of North America. Nonetheless, questions about the connectivity and temporal continuity of mammoth populations and species...
Six bacterial ecophysiological groups from Pleistocene sediment samples collected from two Romanian caves were identified and evaluated for their potential contribution to the interpretation of paleoclimate. Denitrifiers and nitrite oxidizers were present in the culture plates of all samples, the ammonia oxidizers were absent, and the iron-reducers...
In taphonomy, the study of carnivore modification of fossil bones and the analysis of their dispersion represent the best approach to assessing the extent of bone modification and displacement for a given bone assemblage. Here we analyze the excavated bone deposit from Urşilor Cave, a well-documented and fossil-rich Upper Pleistocene cave bear site...
Muierilor and Urșilor Caves are two representative paleontological sites of Europe as they bear significant MIS 3 cave deposits including fossil remains, sediments and speleothems. Over the last few years, we have conducted a number of paleontological excavation campaigns on both caves aimed at understanding the taphonomic processes that occurred d...
Rodents are valuable taxons of the fossil fauna from the Pleistocene epoch in Europe. Given their chronological value, the small mammals (rodents, insectivores) play an important role in drawing up the biochronostratigrafic scheme of the continental deposits. Due to its specific features, small mammal paleontology can provide relevant information o...
During the paleontological excavation process, that was conducted in Muierilor Cave, (Galbenului Valley, Southern Carpathians), several samples were selected for ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction. The AMS 14C ages from the Muierilor paleontological excavation indicate ca. 30 – 43 ky BP. The selection criteria for samples were as follows: target species...
Ancient DNA studies have revolutionised the study of extinct species and populations, providing insights on phylogeny, phylogeography, admixture and demographic history. However, inferences on behaviour and sociality have been far less frequent. Here, we investigate the complete mitochondrial genomes of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears and middl...
Ancient DNA studies have revolutionised the study of extinct species and populations, providing insights on phylogeny, phylogeography, admixture and demographic history. However, inferences on behaviour and sociality have been far less frequent. Here, we investigate the complete mitochondrial genomes of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears and middl...
Radon concentration measurements were carried out using solid-state nuclear track-etch
detectors (RSKS) type CR-39 in Polovragi and Muierilor limestone caves from Easthern Carphatian
(Romania). Two campaigns for measurements were performed in each cave (winter and spring
seasons). The time-periods for which measurements were performed provide relia...
Después de varios años de estudios espeleológicos en diferentes ramas de ciencias naturales y algunos sociales, se han escogidos dos diferentes sitios de ambientes subterráneos en el Oriente Ecuatoriano y en las Islas Galápagos, para ser candidatos para la Lista de Patrimonios para la Humanidad de la UNESCO. Se trata de la Cueva de los Tayos en la...
New data concerning the bone assemblage from Muierilor Cave (Southern Carpathians) were revealed during a new palaeontological excavation (ca. 9 m2) in the Scientific Reserve (= Bears’ Passage). The accumulation of fossil remains within the excavation is represented mostly by scattered skeletal fragments belonging to cave bears (Ursus spelaeus Rose...