Abstract
According to the refugee species concept, increasing replacement of open steppe by forest cover after the last glacial period and human pressure had together forced European bison (Bison bonasus)—the largest extant terrestrial mammal of Europe—into forests as a refuge habitat. The consequent decreased fitness and population density led to the gradual extinction of the species. Understanding the pre-refugee ecology of the species may help its conservation management and ensure its long time survival. In view of this, we investigated the abundance of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) in radiocarbon dated skeletal remains of European bison and other large herbivores—aurochs (Bos primigenius), moose (Alces alces), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)—from the Early Holocene of northern Europe to reconstruct their dietary habits and pattern of habitat use in conditions of low human influence. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions in collagen of the ungulate species in northern central Europe during the Early Holocene showed significant differences in the habitat use and the diet of these herbivores. The values of the δ13C and δ15N isotopes reflected the use of open habitats by bison, with their diet intermediate between that of aurochs (grazer) and of moose (browser). Our results show that, despite the partial overlap in carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of some species, Early Holocene large ungulates avoided competition by selection of different habitats or different food sources within similar environments. Although Early Holocene bison and Late Pleistocene steppe bison utilized open habitats, their diets were significantly different, as reflected by their δ15N values. Additional isotopic analyses show that modern populations of European bison utilize much more forested habitats than Early Holocene bison, which supports the refugee status of the species.
Highlights
The transition between the Pleistocene and the Holocene witnessed in Europe the extinction of several large mammalian herbivores, such as steppe bison Bison priscus, woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius, woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis and giant deer Megaloceros giganteus, these species had survived there previously several similar climatic and vegetational oscillations during the Pleistocene [1], [2], [3]
The Early Holocene European bison isotopic composition ranged from -20.7 to -19.6‰ for δ13C and from 2.8 to 4.0‰ for δ15N values (Table 1, Fig. 2)
Holocene European bison and reindeer did not differ in δ13C values, but the latter species showed significantly higher values than aurochs and moose (Table 2, Fig. 3,)
Summary
The transition between the Pleistocene and the Holocene witnessed in Europe the extinction of several large mammalian herbivores, such as steppe bison Bison priscus, woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius, woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis and giant deer Megaloceros giganteus, these species had survived there previously several similar climatic and vegetational oscillations during the Pleistocene [1], [2], [3]. At the end of the Pleistocene (c.a. 13,000 yrs BP) the area forming Denmark, northern Germany and southern Sweden was already de-glaciated and about three thousand years later it was inhabited by survivors of the mega-herbivore community: European bison (Bison bonasus), aurochs (Bos primigenius), moose (Alces alces) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) [1], [4]. European bison eventually became extinct in the wild at the beginning of the 20th century [9], but were restored to the wild from captive survivors and today occur in over 30 isolated locations in Eastern Europe [10], together with one population in Western Europe [11]. European moose populations experienced numerous range reductions and fragmentations in the past, but this species has returned to most of its original range in Europe during the 20th century [13], [14]
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