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I guess it depends on a few factors:
- Level of realism your looking for (as in scientifically accurate)
- Actual environmental factors (Radiation, bio-agents, atmospheric/air quality issues)
I would also say "it depends" based on the core creature. Most creatures would adapt to be leaner, meaner and more resourceful. They are not going to get smaller if their prey size remains unchanged.
Also this goes to the prey. Say we are talking non-mutated but adapting and evolving timber wolves. They may - during some bad winters and food scarce periods - change their prey from their woodland peers to man. If their prey is more plentiful and they have access they may maintain a good size (both in body and numbers).
Too many unknown factors here - the level or realism desired and if you are dealing with mutations is another.
Gigantism occurs in nature, but generally it's a defect and I run my PA games with oversized creatures as both advantage and defect.
Example - I created a race of Ogres for my GW game - in the plaers region they often ran around with a cannibal gang called the Femans (they wore old up-armored NBC or disaster suits, pig mask an all –scared the shit out of my players). Well, these ogres were not like the ones found in fantasy games - yes they were big and tall mutated humans but they suffered from massive defects ranging from issues with their skeletal system, getting winded easily, tumor ridden, having a shortened life span and finally being in constant pain from their deformed gigantism.
But they had plenty to eat since their prey was plentiful - so access to food wasn't one of their problems.
Again, too many unknowns to give one solid answer. So both yes and no depending on the individual circumstances.
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Volcanic winter complete with periodic ash/dust storms lasting about 400 years ish, not cold enough to kill off all life on the planet or cause a full on ice age but definite reduction in temperatures, populations greatly reduced, humanoids reduced to small enclaves scratching out a living growing just enough to support themselves but definitely not the surplus of resources needed for expansion or even holding steady.
Scarcity of "traditional" prey leading to predators becoming less afraid of/desperate enough to attack humanoid travelers/settlements
I wasn't particularly striving for realism just wondering whether to make my wolves regular or supersized and whether large dragons would have died out through lack of food or vice versa (small dragons being too weak to survive)
Well, fantasy is going to give you plenty of room to work here...
I think it would be safe to say that while the wolves may not be larger they would def be the best of the best. Probably considerably tougher than their pre-apocalyptic versions. Of course there probably would be less of them - though again, if they are successfully preying on a nearby community their pack numbers could reflect that. It could easily become a case of us vs. them, where the wolves maintain their strength while diminishing the town’s numbers. Again, these wolves would have to become very resourceful and cunning to survive - and they would treat the survivor towns as their source prey.
So not necessarily bigger under the circumstances but definitely much tougher (more HD without size increase and higher CON) and more cunning than their pre cataclysm ancestors.
Dragons could also go into hibernation type modes to survive (due to weather or lack of food) - hell, you could make some reasonable assumptions that dragons can go without eating for months or even years.
It could lead to some interesting situations - weak communities get ravaged by a dragon which has started to stir again. Who is going to stop it? Also it could lead to treasure hunters moving through the trackless snow covered wastes looking for the lair of a dragon assumed dead.
When dealing with an ice age type of scenario I would say fewer creatures available overall, but those that remain would be as tough as nails. True survivors.