ORIGINAL ARTICLE Range dynamics of the reindeer in Europe during the last 25,000 years Robert S. Sommer 1 *, Johannes Kalbe 2 , Jonas Ekstr€ om 3 , Norbert Benecke 4 and Ronnie Liljegren 3,5 1 Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, University of Kiel, D-24118, Kiel, Germany, 2 Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany, 3 Museum of Zoology, Lund University, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden, 4 German Archaeological Institute, 14195, Berlin, Germany, 5 Department of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden *Correspondence: Robert S. Sommer, Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, University of Kiel, Olshausenstraße 75, D-24118 Kiel, Germany. E-mail: rsommer@ecology.uni-kiel.de ABSTRACT Aim To understand the role and significance of the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758), as a specific indicator in terms of late Quaternary biogeogra- phy and to determine the effects of global climate change on its range and local extinction dynamics at the end of the Ice Age. Location Late Pleistocene/early Holocene range of reindeer over all of central and western Europe, including southern Scandinavia and northern Iberia, but excluding Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Methods Radiocarbon-dated subfossil records of R. tarandus from both archaeological and natural deposits younger than 25,000 years were assembled in a database. The distribution area was divided into six representative regions. The 14 C dates were calibrated and plotted chronologically in maps in order to compare presence and absence and regional extinction patterns from one region to another. Results After the Last Glacial Maximum, R. tarandus disappeared from south- eastern Central Europe but survived in the south-west until the Younger Dryas period. The ‘Allerød warming’ did not result in complete extirpation of rein- deer in Central Europe. Reindeer probably disappeared c. 11,250 years ago in the North European Plain and c. 11,000 years ago in the British Isles. In south- ern Scandinavia the species survived until c. 10,300 years ago. Main conclusions The late Quaternary record for reindeer in Europe during the last 25 kyr shows a climate-driven dispersal and retreat in response to cli- mate change, with regional variations. The collapse of the mammoth steppe biome did not lead to the local extinction in Europe, as in the case of other megafaunal species. Rangifer tarandus co-existed for about 3000 years during the Late Glacial and early Holocene with typical temperate species such as red deer and roe deer in non-analogue faunal communities. The regional extinction at the end of the Pleistocene coincides with the transition from light open birch/pine forests to pine/deciduous forests. Keywords Climate change, environmental change, extinction, global change, late Quaternary, Pleistocene/Holocene transition, Rangifer tarandus, reindeer. INTRODUCTION The reindeer, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758), is a diurnal gregarious mammal which shows marked migrational behav- iour. Today, its range comprises the northern regions of Eur- asia, North America and Greenland (Herre, 1986). Historically, several different types of reindeer have been rec- ognized (Banfield, 1961), subdivided into three main ecologi- cal groups: the woodland reindeer, tundra reindeer and reindeer of the arctic islands. The tundra form has big wide- angled antlers and comprises ecophenotypes of the formerly recognized subspecies R. t. tarandus, R. t. grantii and R. t. ª 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jbi 1 doi:10.1111/jbi.12193 Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2013)