Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus)
The proposed dietary pattern of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794) has become controversial, as some authors have suggested that they were strictly vegetarian, whereas others maintain they were omnivores that at times ate large amounts of animal protein. We evalua...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 2024-06-23T07:57:22+00:00 Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) Robu, Marius Fortin, Jennifer K. Richards, Michael P. Schwartz, Charles C. Wynn, Jonathan G. Robbins, Charles T. Trinkaus, Erik 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 91, issue 4, page 227-234 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2013 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 2024-06-13T04:10:51Z The proposed dietary pattern of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794) has become controversial, as some authors have suggested that they were strictly vegetarian, whereas others maintain they were omnivores that at times ate large amounts of animal protein. We evaluated these alternatives by compiling stable isotope data of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) from the bone collagen of adult European cave bears from the Late Pleistocene (Marine Isotopic Stage 3). The data include previously published analyses and additional data from the southeastern European (Carpathian) sites of Cioclovina, Muierii, Oase, and Urşilor. The cave bear isotopic values from bone collagen were compared with those from hair keratin occurring in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis Ord, 1815) collected from 1989 to 2009 in the western United States (Yellowstone National Park). The Yellowstone bears have access to a wide diversity of plants and animals, such that their diets can range from vegetarian to carnivorous. Thus, there was considerable δ 13 C and δ 15 N variation among the grizzly bear isotopic values, and the cave bear isotopic variation was encompassed within the overall grizzly bear isotopic distribution. More importantly, the δ 15 N distributions, reflecting principally trophic level, were not different between the cave bears and the grizzly bears; the cave bear values are, on average, slightly higher or lower than those of the grizzly bears, depending on the criteria for inclusion in the comparisons. It is therefore no longer appropriate to view Late Pleistocene cave bears as strictly or even predominantly vegetarian but as flexible omnivores within their diverse communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 91 4 227 234 |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
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English |
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The proposed dietary pattern of extinct Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794) has become controversial, as some authors have suggested that they were strictly vegetarian, whereas others maintain they were omnivores that at times ate large amounts of animal protein. We evaluated these alternatives by compiling stable isotope data of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) from the bone collagen of adult European cave bears from the Late Pleistocene (Marine Isotopic Stage 3). The data include previously published analyses and additional data from the southeastern European (Carpathian) sites of Cioclovina, Muierii, Oase, and Urşilor. The cave bear isotopic values from bone collagen were compared with those from hair keratin occurring in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis Ord, 1815) collected from 1989 to 2009 in the western United States (Yellowstone National Park). The Yellowstone bears have access to a wide diversity of plants and animals, such that their diets can range from vegetarian to carnivorous. Thus, there was considerable δ 13 C and δ 15 N variation among the grizzly bear isotopic values, and the cave bear isotopic variation was encompassed within the overall grizzly bear isotopic distribution. More importantly, the δ 15 N distributions, reflecting principally trophic level, were not different between the cave bears and the grizzly bears; the cave bear values are, on average, slightly higher or lower than those of the grizzly bears, depending on the criteria for inclusion in the comparisons. It is therefore no longer appropriate to view Late Pleistocene cave bears as strictly or even predominantly vegetarian but as flexible omnivores within their diverse communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Robu, Marius Fortin, Jennifer K. Richards, Michael P. Schwartz, Charles C. Wynn, Jonathan G. Robbins, Charles T. Trinkaus, Erik |
spellingShingle |
Robu, Marius Fortin, Jennifer K. Richards, Michael P. Schwartz, Charles C. Wynn, Jonathan G. Robbins, Charles T. Trinkaus, Erik Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
author_facet |
Robu, Marius Fortin, Jennifer K. Richards, Michael P. Schwartz, Charles C. Wynn, Jonathan G. Robbins, Charles T. Trinkaus, Erik |
author_sort |
Robu, Marius |
title |
Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
title_short |
Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
title_full |
Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
title_fullStr |
Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears ( Ursus spelaeus) |
title_sort |
isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among european late pleistocene cave bears ( ursus spelaeus) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 91, issue 4, page 227-234 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0222 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
91 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
227 |
op_container_end_page |
234 |
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1802650971153629184 |