TY - JOUR
T1 - Ancient biomolecules suggest a learned foraging strategy in extinct cave bears
AU - Meleg, Ioana N.
AU - Alberti, Federica
AU - Drucker, Dorothee G.
AU - Nǎpǎruș-Aljančič, , Magdalena
AU - Feurdean, Angelica
AU - Robu, Marius
AU - Vlaicu, Marius
AU - Naito, Yuichi I.
AU - Boroneant, Adina
AU - Cârciumaru, Marin
AU - Nițu, Elena
AU - Hofreiter, Michael
AU - Bocherens, Hervé
AU - Barlow, Axel
N1 - © 2025 The Author(s).
PY - 2025/12/19
Y1 - 2025/12/19
N2 - Studying the behavioral ecology of long-extinct species is challenging due to the difficulty in measuring the behavioral phenotype and correlating this with genetic and environmental factors. However, a multidisciplinary approach integrating isotope analysis of diet and ancient DNA analysis of genetic relationships offers a potential framework to test the proximate causes of dietary preferences. Our study focuses on Late Pleistocene cave bears from the Romanian Carpathians. Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen reveals substantial lifetime variation in food plant preferences among individuals. We find that bears with similar diets do not cluster according to their population structure, sex, time period, climatic conditions, or location. This disconnect suggests that diet preferences in cave bears are not genetically inherited, and instead that individuals adapted their diets based on foraging experience. This integrative approach opens avenues for understanding Pleistocene animal behavior, leveraging ancient biomolecules synergistically to reveal insights otherwise inaccessible.
AB - Studying the behavioral ecology of long-extinct species is challenging due to the difficulty in measuring the behavioral phenotype and correlating this with genetic and environmental factors. However, a multidisciplinary approach integrating isotope analysis of diet and ancient DNA analysis of genetic relationships offers a potential framework to test the proximate causes of dietary preferences. Our study focuses on Late Pleistocene cave bears from the Romanian Carpathians. Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen reveals substantial lifetime variation in food plant preferences among individuals. We find that bears with similar diets do not cluster according to their population structure, sex, time period, climatic conditions, or location. This disconnect suggests that diet preferences in cave bears are not genetically inherited, and instead that individuals adapted their diets based on foraging experience. This integrative approach opens avenues for understanding Pleistocene animal behavior, leveraging ancient biomolecules synergistically to reveal insights otherwise inaccessible.
U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113920
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113920
M3 - Article
C2 - 41497401
SN - 2589-0042
VL - 28
JO - iScience
JF - iScience
IS - 12
M1 - 113920
ER -