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Tooth Microwear Suggested a Less Diverse Winter Diet in Finnish Reindeer

Reindeer standing in snow near Ukonjärvi and Inarijärvi in Inari, Finland
Research · Ecology

Microscopic wear on the teeth of 99 adult reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from five Finnish populations indicated a seasonal shift toward a less varied winter diet, according to a study published in February 2026. The material included wild forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus) from Kuhmo and Perho and semi-domesticated reindeer (R. t. tarandus) from Kuusamo, Finland, Enontekiö and Savukoski.

The researchers used dental microwear texture analysis, which measures three-dimensional patterns created on tooth enamel by food. The final sample contained 30 wild forest reindeer from Kuhmo, 12 from Perho, 12 semi-domesticated animals from Kuusamo, 25 from Enontekiö and 20 from Savukoski.

Season mattered more than sex or subspecies

Microwear did not differ significantly between the two subspecies, between males and females or among populations sampled in the same season. In the seasonal comparison, winter animals showed higher anisotropy — meaning that microscopic scars were more strongly oriented in the same direction — and lower heterogeneity, meaning less variation in surface complexity across the tooth. Because higher heterogeneity is generally associated with a more diverse diet, the authors interpret this combination as a less varied winter diet with increased lichen consumption.

Season and locality could not be fully separated

That seasonal interpretation has an important limitation: the autumn and winter specimens came from different localities, so season and location could not be fully separated. The authors therefore call for samples from the same populations across multiple seasons to test the dietary shift more directly.

Compared with other modern European reindeer reference populations, the Finnish animals had a distinctive combination of microwear traits. The authors argue that the pattern is more consistent with environmental adaptation and shared forest habitats than with subspecies identity alone.

Sources and image credit

  1. Pelletier, M., Capdepon, E., & Discamps, E. (2026). Variability in the feeding ecology and behaviour of extant European reindeer subspecies inferred from dental microwear texture analysis. Mammal Research, 71, 31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-026-00855-zPrimary open-access research article published 25 February 2026 under CC BY 4.0. Dental microwear texture analysis was conducted on 99 adult reindeer from five Finnish populations: wild forest reindeer from Kuhmo (n=30) and Perho (n=12), and semi-domesticated reindeer from Kuusamo (n=12), Enontekiö (n=25) and Savukoski (n=20). No significant differences were found between subspecies or sexes. Winter specimens showed higher anisotropy and lower heterogeneity than autumn specimens, interpreted by the authors as a less diverse winter diet linked to increased lichen consumption.

Image: Manfred Werner (Tsui) / Wikimedia Commons — reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) near Ukonjärvi/Inarijärvi in Inari, Finland, photographed 12 March 2013; representative Finnish winter photograph, not an animal from the study · CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Source

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