@article{10902/38301,
year = {2025},
month = {8},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/38301},
abstract = {During the Holocene, Iberian ecosystems have changed dramatically in response to different biotic and abiotic drivers. Typically, the impact of these changes on ecosystems is assessed in terms of the variation of diversity in the communities that compose them. However, there are a wide variety of population-specific parameters of vital importance for the maintenance of the structure and health of these ecosystems. In this study, we have focused on the drastic decrease in body size (body mass) during the Holocene in three large mammal species in the Cantabrian Mountains. Namely, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), the chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) and the wild horse (Equus ferus ferus). The research combines the analysis of new findings with an exhaustive compilation of previously published data to assess changes in the body size of these species at different geographical (European, Iberian and Cantabrian Regions) and chronological scales (during the Quaternary – i.e. Pleistocene and Holocene). We aim at assessing the impact of anthropogenic and climatic factors on macromammal populations in the Iberian Peninsula, using new data obtained from the new archaeo-palaeontological site of Cueva de Llamazares (León, Spain). The results show that, although the final decline in body size during the Holocene occurred in the three species, each of them seems to have been driven by different factors. Bear populations seem more influenced by their mobility versus the potential impact of changing in human hunting dynamics, while changes in vegetation cover would have been most important for chamois, and the gradual effect of climate changes for horse populations. Research covering broad chronological ranges in the past helps understanding the present and future dynamics of these species, thus contributing to their conservation and management.},
organization = {The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research activity was funded by the Research Group Q-GEO (Geología Ambiental, Cuaternario y Geodiversidad, Universidad de León, León, Spain). D.F. was supported by the Ayuda del Programa de Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU20/03389) and is a Ph.D. student at the Programa de Doctorado en Biología at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.},
publisher = {Sage},
publisher = {Holocene, 2025, 35(8), 762-775},
title = {Highlighting the drastic body size decline in Cantabrian brown bear, chamois and wild horse during the Holocene},
author = {Fidalgo, Darío and Fernández-Rodríguez, Carlos and Ballesteros Posada, Daniel and Ordiz, Andrés and Pérez de la Viuda, Christian and Cruz, Juncal A. and García-Morato, Sara and Fernández-Martínez, Esperanza},
}