Nutrition of the small cave bear (Mammalia, Carnivora, Ursidae, Ursus (Spelaearctos) rossicus Borissak, 1930) in the Urals according to the results of the analysis of 13С and 15N isotopes in bone collagen

Abstract

An analysis of data on the content of 13C and 15N isotopes in the collagen of the bones of the small cave bear (Ursus (S.) rossicus Borissak, 1930) from localities in the Middle and Southern Urals was carried out. The bones date from the Interglacial (MIS 5) and Glacial (MIS 3) periods. The bones of males and females aged 3 years, 4 years and older than 4 years were studied. Sexual, geographical and chronological differences in the content of 13C and 15N isotopes were studied. Notable gender, geographic, and chronological differences between samples are shown. In the Middle Urals, during the interglacial period, females led a more predatory lifestyle than males, and during the transition to the glacial period, the trophic niches of males and females converged due to an increase in herbivory. During the interglacial period in the Southern Urals, males led a more predatory lifestyle than in the Middle Urals. In the Southern Urals, during this transition, the scale of changes in δ13C and δ15N values corresponds to the scale of differences between trophic levels.