In article ,
Malcolm writes:
|
| There are only a few multicellular plants or animals that were here
| 11,000 years ago that are still here today.
|
| How do you work that out? 11,000 years ago, i.e. 9,000 BC, Britain had
| tundra, forests, marshes, freshwater lakes, rivers, streams, etc., all
| holding a huge range of plants and animals, the great majority of which
| are still here today, including man.

According to all the references I have seen (in particular Yalden
and Birks), the glaciers still reached down to the Midlands in 11,00 BP,
and the ice-free parts of Britain were tundra. If that date is wrong,
make it 11,500 or 12,000 or whatever matches.

It is unlikely that any species of tree grew in the UK then, except
perhaps for Scots pine and JUST possibly birch, or more than 2-3
species of mammal (probably not including man) that are here today,
according to Yalden. There were many more in the warm periods, of
course.

Invertebrates are harder to estimate, but there is some evidence for
beetles.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.