THE LAST GLACIAL INTERGLACIAL RECORD OF RODENT REMAINS FROM THE GIGNYKARST SEQUENCE IN THE FRENCH JURA USED FOR PALEOCLIMATIC AND PALEOECOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTIONS

A multidisciplinary approach has produced an exceptional chronological log of climatic patterns for the Upper Pleistocene sequence of Gigny Cave (Jura, France) covering the Pre-Eemian, Eemian Interglacial, Midd le Glacial and Upper Pleniglacial, as well as a part of the Holocene. Multivariate analysis (correspondence and component analysis) of roden t associations from the sequence is used here to characterize the diff erent climatic stages in terms of relative temperature, plant cover an d moisture. Faunal analysis establishes: (1) positive and negative cor relations among the variations of the different species; (2) the signi ficance of axis 1 (component analysis) which, in terms of temperature, opposes cold environments with contrasted continental biotopes; (3a) the significance of axis 2 (component analysis), which reflects vegeta tion patterns ranging from open to closed habitats; (3b) the significa nce of axis 3 (component analysis), which expresses trends in moisture ; (4) various correlations between faunal and climatic parameters (tem perature, plant cover and moisture); (5) evaluation of faunal diversit y (Shannon index ranging from 0.74 to 2.27) showing that diversity inc reases with temperature and the complexity of vegetation, but is not s ensitive to moisture. Lastly, the comparison of multivariate methods w ith the weighted semi-quantitative Hokr method shows the complementari ty of the two approaches, the first methods quantifying climatic param eters while the second seems to provide more precise evaluations of th e main seasons of rainfall.