Late-glacial climate in the Maritimes Region, Canada, reconstructed from mutual climatic range analysis of fossil Coleoptera

Mean July and January temperatures are reconstructed from radiocarbon-dated fossil beetle assemblages from late-glacial sites in the Maritimes Region of eastern Canada. Fossil-bearing sediments date from 12700 C-14 yr SP (149 50 cal yr BP) to younger than 10800 C-14 yr BP (12730 cal yr BP), spanning a period which includes stratigraphic, palynological, chironomid and coleop teran evidence for a climatic deterioration during the Younger Dryas in Nor th America. Mutual Climatic Range data suggest several 'events' in the cole opteran record from the Maritimes that appear similar to climate events rec orded in the GRIP ice-core record, including the (Younger Dryas) cooling ev ent from GI-1a to GS-1 beginning c. 12650 GRIP yr BP Some of the major temp erature oscillations of Greenland Interstadial 1 may also be reflected in t he coleopteran record of the Maritimes.