Climate change at the holocene thermal maximum and its impact on wild game populations in South Scandinavia

Abstract

The impact of climate change on wild game populations in South Scandinavia is evaluated based on analysis of faunal remains of red deer, roe deer, moose, aurochs and wild boar to trace variations in the abundance and body size before and during the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM). The abundance of aurochs and moose decreases before the HTM. In Scania the red deer, roe deer and wild boar populations are stable before and during HTM, but on Zealand an increase in red deer is noticed while the abundance of wild boar decreases. A decrease in body size of red deer correlates with the HTM, while wild boar seems to increase in size. No change in size of roe deer could be observed. The change of the wild game populations during the HTM and its relevance to wild game biology are also discussed.