Final Report

Dear friends, 

Our project, INTEGRATE (“Paleoecology and extinction of large mammals from Isotopic Stages 3-1 of the Romanian Carpathians: an integrative approach”; PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2021-0187), funded by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, CNCS - UEFISCDI, has come to the end.

The objectives of the INTEGRATE project were:

Objective 1: Reconstruction of the dietary profiles of MIS 3-1 mammals by exploring the potential of combining traditional and non-traditional stable isotope systems, dental meso/micro-wear, geometric morphometrics and osteometric analyses. Done ✔

Objective 2: Exploring the use of stable oxygen isotopes (on faunal remains) in paleoclimatic reconstructions. Done ✔

Objective 3: Evaluation of the chronological framework of the studied palaeo-populations and their extinction from the Romanian Carpathians by using the radiocarbon method (AMS 14C). Done ✔

Objective 4: Developing an integrative methodology for evaluating paleoecology and paleoclimatology for the studied palaeo-populations. Done ✔

Other objectives, initially unplanned but achieved or in the process of being achieved: 5) Building and consolidation of a European research network, with extensive extra-Carpathian interest, and 6) Growing of the palaeontological collection of ERIS, with samples of late Pleistocene-Holocene fossils, from neighboring countries (Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania), with interest for collaboration in the future (Hungary, Ukraine, Greece and Croatia).

During this period, we sampled and analyzed a record number of individuals of U. spealaeus and associated fauna not only from the Carpathian Mountains but also from the neighboring regions, laying the foundations for fruitful collaborations with colleagues from Romania and abroad. Moreover, the obtained results underlined the growing importance and potential of this region, in the context of paleofauna dynamics during the MIS 3-1 period.

An exhaustive report of all activities and results obtained can be found in the Dissemination chapter of this website (Raport 2024; in Romanian).

We would like to thank the funder and all our collaborators and, last but not least, to you, those interested in our work! The contract is over but the INTEGRATE project continues. The data processing is in full process and it will take at least two from now for having all the results.

Stay tuned! We will be back with news.

See you soon! 

INTEGRATE team