Reconstructing the dietary ecology of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) through the Last Cold Stage in Europe

Reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus, 1758) is a highly adaptable species, with distinct ecotypes inhabiting a variety of environmental and ecological conditions, both geographically today and throughout the Quaternary. Understanding the extent of this ecological flexibility is important, especially in the light of global warming, which is already altering vegetation availability and increasing habitat overlap and competition with other species. Last Cold Stage fossil specimens from Europe provide a valuable opportunity to investigate reindeer dietary flexibility and resource partitioning with other herbivores. This study employs dental microwear and mesowear analyses to (1) assess the dietary ecology of European fossil reindeer from Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a to MIS 2 and (2) examine resource partitioning with red deer ( Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) and giant deer ( Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach, 1799) during MIS 3 in Britain. The results suggest that reindeer maintained a flexible dietary niche, enabling adaptation to seasonal and temporal changes in vegetation structure, as well as to potential competition pressures within Late Pleistocene herbivore communities.