Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats

Abstract

Stable isotope analyses of bone collagen are often used in palaeoecological studies to reveal environmental conditions in the habitats of different herbivore species. However, such studies require valuable reference data, obtained from analyses of modern individuals, in habitats of well-known conditions. In this article, we present the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bone collagen from modern red deer (N = 242 individuals) dwelling in various habitats (N = 15 study sites) in Europe. We investigated which of the selected climatic and environmental factors affected the δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen of the studied specimens. Among all analyzed factors, the percent of forest cover influenced the carbon isotopic composition most significantly, and decreasing forest cover caused an increase in δ13C values. The δ15N was positively related to the proportion of open area and (only in the coastal areas) negatively related to the distance to the seashore. Using rigorous statistical methods and a large number of samples, we confirmed that δ13C and δ15N values can be used as a proxy of past habitats of red deer.

Variability in feeding habitats of red deer sensu lato in Eurasia in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene

“…Stable isotopic data of modern European red deer samples were taken from Sykut et al, (2021). We randomly selected 49 samples (Tab.…”

“…S1). The details concerning those habitats has been described in S1Table in Sykut et al (2021). Due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the δ 13 C values of modern samples have been corrected for the shift in δ 13 C values according to the formula proposed by Feng (1998) and provided in Sykut et al, (2021).…”

“…During the last 50 ka, the range of red deer s.l. changed in response to climate oscillations, contracting during colder period and expanding during warmer episodes (Sommer et al, 2008;Meiri et al, 2013;Doan et al, 2022;Niedziałkowska et al, 2021). In the Late Pleistocene (54.0 ka -34.0 ka before present (BP)), red deer s.l.…”

“…Within this time period, red deer s.l. are likely to have survived not only on the Iberian, Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas (Skog et al, 2009;Sommer & Zachos, 2009) but also, as recent studies indicated, in western Europe, the Carpathians, surroundings of the Black Sea and the Urals (Queiros et al, 2019;Niedziałkowska et al, 2021). After the LGM when the climate became warmer, red deer s.l.…”

“…After the LGM when the climate became warmer, red deer s.l. populations recolonized the north and north-eastern parts of the continent (Sommer et al, 2008;Niedziałkowska et al, 2021).…”