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How did the former land bridge between Siberia and Alaska affect animal distributions?

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World map using color coding to show the distribution of major floral kingdoms, subkingdoms, and regions. Key floral kingdoms include Boreal (green), Neotropical (pink), Paleotropical (yellow), South African or Capensic (purple), Australian (orange), and Antarctic (blue). Boundaries for subkingdoms, regions, and divisions are marked with different colored lines, and major regions such as Indoafrican, North American, and Malesian are labeled across continents. — biogeographic region Floral kingdoms, subkingdoms, and major regions of the world.

The land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, known as Beringia, served as a critical corridor for the movement of life between the Old and New Worlds during the Pleistocene Epoch.12

Formed during periods of global glaciation when sea levels dropped, this vast, unglaciated region of dry land allowed for the migration of various species. Because the area supported cold-hardy tundra vegetation, it provided a viable habitat that enabled land mammals to venture eastward from Asia into North America.12

Fossil evidence confirms that this intercontinental connection facilitated the exchange of fauna between the two continents. Additionally, it is widely believed that this route served as the primary pathway for the first human populations to migrate into and populate the Americas. As glaciers melted and sea levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene, the land bridge was submerged, severing the connection and isolating the populations that had crossed into the Americas.12