PONE-D-23-41818Novel evidence that elk were historically native to the Sierra Nevada, and recent range expansions into the regionPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Lanman,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================<ul><li>Please pay particular attention to addressing the following points from the reviewers:

1. LInes 26 and again on lines 66 and 67: Not much evidence presented in the paper to substainiate the claim of elk populations being suppressed by aboriginal hunting . I would think even if native american hunted elk there would be evidence from petroglyphs, or bone fragments in archeology sites. Please address.
2. Lines 190-193: Although the authors say this is in the Sierra Nevada region. The reference seems to be more relegated to Central to Northeast NV, where the Humboldt River begins (Marys River) and terminates (Humboldt Sink) near Lovelock, NV. I don't know that this provides direct or indirect evidence but it does indicate elk may have been present in the region around the 1840's. Please clarify or modify this claim.
3. Lines 198-203: Same general comment as above. Consider modifying the description here and mentioning in the Discussion.
4. Lines 280-284: It is not clear where this observation is noted on Figure 2.

Lines 289-290: I'm not sure if this is a reference to all the observations from 2019 to 2022, or just the observations that were corroborated with fecal DNA? Were they at least from different sexes of elk? That would lend more plausibility of there being a breeding population in the Sierra Nevada. Please clarify

1. Minor critique: some language could be tightened throughout. For example, line 22. Consider rewording to be more concise: "were previously considered non-native to the Sierra Nevada" perhaps.3`

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

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Reviewer #1: No

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: I believe this manuscript is an important contribution to science and understanding of the history of elk distribution in California and in the Sierra Nevada mountains and surrounding areas. The manuscript is well written and makes a compelling argument that Rocky Mountain elk likely inhabited the Sierra Nevada previously to the 1900's, but due to a lack of museum specimens, zooarchaeological or other records, previous texts and publications may have overlooked their presence. This could have been due to a lack of modern records documenting their existence because they were overexploited or simply vary rare, albeit present, in modern history. I believe the authors present more indirect evidence of this than direct evidence. The historical records could be substantiated by more clear references than were presented here. Furthermore, the observations and zooarchaeological records that are presented as "direct evidence" seem to be more indirect or circumstantial to elk being near the Sierra Nevada mountains or perhaps occasional dispersals to the Sierra Nevada. For example the map on Figure 2 shows the locations of historical records of elk and zooarchaeological sites with elk remains, however only 2 out of 6 records appear to be within the identified Sierra Nevada zone while the other 4 records occur just outside of this zone.

The indirect evidence seems more compelling including the ethnographic and ethnolinguistic information presented such as the newspaper articles describing elk being harvested in the Sierra Nevada as well as local place names and native American names for elk in the region and specifically within the Sierra Nevada.

Additionally, as the title implies there has been a recent influx and establishment of Rocky Mountain elk into portions of the northern Sierra Nevada and several documented recent sightings or telemetry movements elsewhere into the Sierra Nevada indicating it is clearly suitable habitat for them. This seems relevant to modern management of both these novel ungulates and the predator prey relationships they may arise from their expansion. This may be very important for understanding the distribution of other species such as modern Gray wolves that have established and also other large carnivores who prey on these species such as mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, and possibly wolverines that scavenge these carcasses. I believe this provides some more evidence that elk could potentially have occurred in the Sierra Nevada historically, assuming there has not been major habitat changes in the past 150 years, and that they likely can persist there in current conditions.

Overall I would recommend publishing this manuscript with a few slight clarifications to references provided and some minor editorial suggestions.

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Reviewer #1: No

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Submitted filename: PONE-D-23-41818 CS review.pdf

Novel evidence that elk were historically native to the Sierra Nevada, and recent range expansions into the region

PONE-D-23-41818R1

Dear Dr. Lanman,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The manuscript is a meaningful contribution to science and authors have made appropriate revisions to address concerns of original paper. I believe they completed a comprehensive search of historical and contemporary records of elk or references of elk in the ethnographic and linguistic literature as well as museum records. I believe the authors make a compelling argument, although not without uncertainty, that elk were likely present in the Sierra Nevada prior to European settlement and during early exploration of Anglo-American explorers.

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Reviewer #1: No

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