Late Quaternary millennial-scale stability of the feeding strategy of the gray brocket deer [ Subulo gouazoubira (G. Fischer, 1814); Mammalia] in Southeastern Brazil

  1. William J Pestle
  2. Alex Hubbe
  3. Mark Hubbe
  4. Avaaz Amirali
  5. Eliane Nunes Chim
  6. Rodrigo Elias Oliveira
  7. Eluzai Dinai Pinto Sandoval
  8. Lorena Becerra-Valdivia
  9. José Maurício Barbanti Duarte
  10. Walter A Neves

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Abstract

There is only limited evidence (contemporary or archaeological/paleontological) regarding the feeding ecology of the gray brocket deer ( Subulo gouazoubira ) in Brazil’s Cerrado biome. Using stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope analyses of dental enamel from individuals recovered from Cuvieri Cave, Minas Gerais, we explore dietary and environmental changes between the Late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs for S. gouazoubira living in this biome. δ13C data suggest no significant shift in feeding strategy between the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, with both sets of individuals displaying carbon isotope values consistent with browsing in open environments rather than closed canopy forests. A shift in δ18O values, on the other hand, indicates climatic changes in the area of Cuvieri Cave from the late Pleistocene to Holocene epoch. This study highlights the stability in the feeding behavior of the gray brocket deer despite biotic and abiotic changes between the epochs.

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  1. Peer Community in Paleontology

    Understanding past climates, recent environmental changes and their impacts on Quaternary faunas are key considerations for gaining a better understanding of the impact of current climate change on biodiversity (Barnosky et al., 2011). In this context, the study by Pestle et al. (2026) on “the Late Quaternary millennial-scale stability of the feeding strategy of the grey brocket deer based on the fossil record from Cuvieri Cave (Minas Gerais, Brazil)”, which is recommended here, provides new data on the adaptations of large herbivore faunas to climatic and environmental changes over the last 30,000 years.

    Caves are natural traps and exceptional repositories for the study of the Quaternary. Indeed, the deposits – and in particular the fossils – are protected there from surface erosion, ultraviolet radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations (Lowe and Walker, 2014). This environment not only produces fossils that are often very well preserved but also facilitates various types of analysis for their dating, identification and palaeoecology (Lowe and Walker, 2014; Piccini et al., 2022). In particular, isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, strontium and sulphur can provide information on diet, vegetation consumed, aridity, water resources, mobility and certain environmental characteristics (Stevens et al., 2025). Furthermore, the context of cave deposition often allows for very high sedimentary resolution (White, 2007). This temporal resolution enables the study not only of major glacial/interglacial cycles, but also of more rapid events, such as climatic variations on timescales of a few thousand years, which is significantly finer than many conventional continental archives (Courty and Vallverdu, 2001).

    South America is of particular interest for the study of Quaternary climatic and biological changes (Woodburne, 2010). The continent has a unique biogeographical history, notably due to the Great American Biotic Exchange following the closure of the Isthmus of Panama, and subsequently to Quaternary climatic and environmental changes. These events gave rise to a particularly diverse fauna comprising endemic lineages and North American immigrants (Carrillo et al., 2015). Stable isotopes also highlight the importance of taking this biogeographical history into account when interpreting palaeoecological data (Domingo et al., 2012). Indeed, the interpretation of isotopes must take into account the biogeography and ecology of species, as the same isotopic signal does not necessarily have the same meaning in all regions or for all taxa (Domingo et al., 2012).

    The past 30,000 or so years have encompassed a succession of very contrasting climatic conditions: the cold phase preceding and surrounding the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, around 21,000 years ago; Clark et al., 2009), deglaciation, several episodes of rapid warming and cooling, the Pleistocene–Holocene transition around 11,700 years ago, and subsequently the climatic fluctuations of the Holocene (e.g., Parizzi et al., 1998; Cheng et al., 2013; Novello et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2017). Added to this climatic history is a major biological transformation: the extinction of a large proportion of Quaternary megafauna, which was particularly pronounced in South America (Barnosky and Lindsey, 2010; Cione et al., 2015). The value of cave research is therefore twofold. On the one hand, it enables environmental changes to be measured and dated with high resolution; on the other, it allows us to observe how animal populations and communities responded to these changes: shifts in range, changes in abundance, alterations in diet, population decline and habitat fragmentation, genetic differentiation and, in some cases, extinction (e.g., Hubbe et al., 2011; Metcalf et al., 2016; Raczka et al., 2018). Indeed, the glacial-interglacial cycles of the Quaternary period not only triggered large-scale migrations, but also led to measurable selective pressure at the microevolutionary level (Lister, 2004; Bofarull et al., 2008; Palma et al., 2012) and, in some cases, to a reduction in genetic diversity amongst certain groups of mammals (Chan et al., 2005).

    Within the Quaternary record of South America, Brazil (particularly the Minas Gerais region; Auler and Pessoa, 2020) is of particular significance due to the number of caves discovered there and the richness of fossils recovered from them (e.g., Hubbe et al., 2011; Araujo et al., 2012; Auler and Pessoa, 2020; Ramos and Chahud, 2026). In this context, the study by Pestle et al. (2026) provides new chronological and palaeoecological data on the fauna of the Cuvieri Cave and the Minas Gerais region, focusing on the ecology of the grey brocket deer (Subulo gouazoubira) in the Cerrado, by analysing the stable isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) in tooth enamel, to reconstruct dietary and environmental changes between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. The study highlights the surprising stability of the grey brocket deer’s feeding strategy despite significant environmental variations. Unfortunately, the limited sample size of this study and the difficulties in interpreting the oxygen (δ¹⁸O) data, due to the complexity of the relationships between temperature and precipitation, do not allow for a definitive conclusion to be drawn regarding the impact of regional climate change on the ecology of the grey brocket deer in the Cerrado. Above all, however, this study is particularly important in demonstrating the full potential of this type of approach – combining high-resolution stratigraphy with palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological data – to gain a concrete understanding of the impact of recent climate change on the ecology and conservation of present-day species.

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