New evidence for the distribution of C3-C4 grasslands throughout the Quaternary from stable isotope analysis in hippopotamuses

Research into the Quaternary period is fundamental to understand the modern distribution of biomes and ecosystem assemblages around the world. The climatic cyclicity of the Pleistocene coupled with the adaptive evolution of its ecosystems throughout the Cenozoic resulted in the composition and extent we observe today. To obtain a higher resolution picture of past ecological changes it is necessary to approach from different and complementary methodological perspectives. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of stable carbon isotopes in hippo tooth enamel. The data obtained come both from new analyses carried out at the Vallparadís Estació site (Terrassa, NE Iberia) and from the compilation of all previously published data. The ultimate aim of this approach is to obtain information on the distribution of different grassland types and their associated ecosystems during the Quaternary in Europe, Africa and Asia. The results of this study highlight the effectiveness of stable isotope analysis of hippo enamel as a valuable tool for monitoring changes in grassland vegetation structure. This approach facilitates climatic inferences and, in particular, clarifies interactions between biomes and faunal responses at a global scale.