Pollen and spores from molar folds reflect food choice of late Pleistocene and Early Holocene herbivores in The Netherlands and the adjacent North Sea area

Bas Van Geel,Bram W Langeveld,Dick Mol,Pim W.O Van Der Knaap,Jacqueline F.N Van Leeuwen

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106030

Bas Van Geel, Bram W Langeveld + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106030

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Abstract

Molars of eight large herbivore species (Megaloceros giganteus, Cervus elaphus, Rangifer tarandus, Alces alces, Bison priscus, Ovibos moschatus, Coelodonta antiquitatis and Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis) were collected ex situ from Pleistocene and Holocene sands dredged in the North Sea, and from Dutch inland sites. Folds in many molars contained compacted masticated plant remains, and also microfossils. We identified pollen, spores, and non-pollen palynomorphs and discuss and interpret food preferences, represented flowering seasons, or parts of flowering seasons, and we discuss effects of changing vegetation composition in relation to climate and age of the molars, based on the pollen spectra. Various confounding factors have contributed to the recorded pollen composition, but nevertheless the pollen spectra show valuable aspects of vegetation composition, food choice, age, and landscapes, from subarctic open areas to interglacial forest. Ecological and statistical analysis of the results shows dietary differences between the mammal species analyzed.

Highlights

The mammoth steppe ecosystem contained a combination of plant and animal species that does not occur anywhere today
Fifty-two samples were analyzed for pollen, spores and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP; van Geel, 2001); the microscope slides are stored in the collection of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, accession number 19e112
Based on molar-embedded pollen grains and spores we gained insight into the diet of eight herbivore species that lived during the Eemian interglacial, the Weichselian, and the Early to midHolocene, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The mammoth steppe ecosystem contained a combination of plant and animal species that does not occur anywhere today. It was characterized by diverse megafauna of mostly herbivorous species (Guthrie, 1990). Hofmann (1989) classified extant ruminants, based on extensive dietary work on fresh specimens into concentrate selectors (selecting high quality food, rich in plant cell contents), grass/roughage eaters (selecting low quality food, rich in plant cell wall, cellulose) and intermediate, or mixed feeder types. Most large ruminants (e.g. bison) are classified as grass/roughage eaters, while most medium sized species of deer (including reindeer and red deer) are intermediate types. Even large grazing animals, classified as roughage eaters, do not indiscriminately graze all plants

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