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European bison (Bison bonasus) were widespread throughout Europe during the late Pleistocene. However, the contributions of environmental change and humans to their near extinction have never been resolved. Using process-explicit models, fossils and ancient DNA, we disentangle the combinations of threatening processes that drove population declines and regional extinctions of European bison through space and across time. We show that the population size of European bison declined abruptly at the termination of the Pleistocene in response to rapid environmental change, hunting by humans and their interaction. Human activities prevented populations of European bison from rebounding in the Holocene, despite improved environmental conditions. Hunting caused range loss in the north and east of its distribution, while land use change was responsible for losses in the west and south. Advances in hunting technologies from 1500 CE were needed to simulate low abundances observed in 1870 CE. While our findings show that humans were an important driver of the extinction of the European bison in the wild, vast areas of its range vanished during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition because of post-glacial environmental change. These areas of its former range have been climatically unsuitable for millennia and should not be considered in reintroduction efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming and human landscape transformation during the Holocene resulted in environmental changes for wild animals. The last remnants of the European Pleistocene megafauna that survived into the Holocene were particularly vulnerable to changes in habitat. To track the response of habitat use and foraging of large herbivores to natural and anthropogenic changes in environmental conditions during the Holocene, we investigated carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope composition in bone collagen of moose (Alces alces), European bison (Bison bonasus) and aurochs (Bos primigenius) in Central and Eastern Europe. We found strong variations in isotope compositions in the studied species throughout the Holocene and diverse responses to changing environmental conditions. All three species showed significant changes in their δ13C values reflecting a shift of foraging habitats from more open in the Early and pre‐Neolithic Holocene to more forest during the Neolithic and Late Holocene. This shift was strongest in European bison, suggesting higher plasticity, more limited in moose, and the least in aurochs. Significant increases of δ15N values in European bison and moose are evidence of a diet change towards more grazing, but may also reflect increased nitrogen in soils following deglaciation and global temperature increases. Among the factors explaining the observed isotope variations were time (age of samples), longitude and elevation in European bison, and time, longitude and forest cover in aurochs. None of the analysed factors explained isotope variations in moose. Our results demonstrate the strong influence of natural (forest expansion) and anthropogenic (deforestation and human pressure) changes on the foraging ecology of large herbivores, with forests playing a major role as a refugial habitat since the Neolithic, particularly for European bison and aurochs. We propose that high flexibility in foraging strategy was the key for survival of large herbivores in the changing environmental conditions of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how do environmental and climatic factors, but also management, affect the carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope composition in bone collagen of the two largest contemporary herbivores: European bison (Bison bonasus) and moose (Alces alces) across Europe. We also analysed how different scenarios of population recovery- reintroduction in bison and natural recovery in moose influenced feeding habitats and diet of these two species and compared isotopic signatures of modern populations of bison and moose (living in human-altered landscapes) with those occurring in early Holocene. We found that δ13C of modern bison and moose decreased with increasing forest cover. Decreasing forest cover, increasing mean annual temperature and feeding on farm crops caused an increase in δ15N in bison, while no factor significantly affected δ15N in moose. We showed significant differences in δ13C and δ15N among modern bison populations, in contrast to moose populations. Variation in both isotopes in bison resulted from inter-population differences, while in moose it was mainly an effect of intra-population variation. Almost all modern bison populations differed in δ13C and δ15N from early Holocene bison. Such differences were not observed in moose. It indicates refugee status of European bison. Our results yielded evidence that habitat structure, management and a different history of population recovery have a strong influence on foraging behaviour of large herbivores reflected in stable isotope signatures. Influence of forest structure on carbon isotope signatures of studied herbivores supports the “canopy effect” hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the dietary differences among four extant suid genera using 3D dental microwear texture analysis on the enamel surfaces of molar shearing facets. We tested the differences among four taxa for four variables: complexity, anisotropy, and heterogeneity at two scales. This enabled us to distinguish omnivorous taxa ( Sus s crofa and Potamochoerus sp.) from herbivorous ones ( Phacochoerus africanus and Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) in terms of complexity. Heterogeneity likely distinguishes the suids displaying specialized diets (homogenous surfaces in the grazer Ph. africanus) from the more generalized suids (heterogeneous surfaces in the omnivorous S. scrofa and Potamochoerus sp., and mixed feeder herbivorous H. meinertzhageni). This study represents the first step toward a better comprehension of the diet and ecology of extant and fossil suids and also puts forward new hypotheses to be tested, especially on the effects of rootling behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With four species of ruminants, including red deer, roe deer, moose, and European bison, the Białowieża Primeval Forest is unique on the European continent, where only one to three ungulate species are usually found. The present study is the first effort to explore the dietary overlap of a European community of sympatric ruminants using 3D dental microwear texture analysis. Results obtained for ungulates from the Białowieża Forest were compared with those of four species with well known differences in diet (semi-wild Heck cattle, African buffaloes, giraffes, and yellow-backed duikers). These ruminants frame the spectrum of expected 3D dental microwear textures among ruminants: C3 and C4 grazers share high anisotropy and low to intermediate complexity while browsers display intermediate to high complexity associated with low anisotropy. No significant differences between browsers (moose and roe deer) and mixed feeders (red deer) were detected by this analysis supporting a significant overlap in diet found in Białowieża. The results on the fourth ruminant are unequivocal: the European bison is not grazer but instead is highly engaged in browsing. Furthermore, through 3D dental microwear texture analysis, the high plasticity in feeding behavior of the European bison can be tracked depending on the seasons and on available access to feeding supplements during the winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]