Mammalian ecosystem dynamics in the Carpathian Basin during the last 27,000 years

The rich Quaternary mammalian fauna of the Carpathian Basin has been collected for over a hundred years. Part of this material (from 63 layers of 15 localities) is suitable for quantitative palaeoecological study. The examination of communities is based on ecotype analysis that employs trophic preferences and body size of species, as well as species richness of communities. Distribution of ecotypes within the communities is used to define three ecological variables (trophic structure, body size distribution and diversity index), which are useful to describe changes of communities during the last 27,000 years. Cluster analysis and assessment of similarity help identify the times of changes. This study demonstrates that the ecological characters of Late Pleistocene and Holocene communities differed considerably. Late Pleistocene communities were characterized by low diversity and dominance of granivores and browser/grazers. In the Holocene, the diversity increased and beside the granivores, insectivores and carnivores were also important. The two large periods are subdivided into shorter units, which also differ in their ecological characters. These ecological units are used to construct an ecostratigraphical zonation which helps refine the previously established biochronological scheme for the Carpathian Basin. The ecological changes of mammalian communities reflect climate changes in the studied area. By comparison with mammalian faunas of two other areas (Southern Germany and the Russian Plain), the climate changes are interpreted in a broader geographic context. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.