Ontogeny shapes individual dietary specialization in female European brown bears (Ursus arctos).

ABSTRACT: Individual dietary specialization, where individuals occupy a subset of a population's wider dietary niche, is a key factor determining a species resilience against environmental change. However, the ontogeny of individual specialization, as well as associated underlying social learning, genetic, and environmental drivers, remain poorly understood. Using a multigenerational dataset of female European brown bears (Ursus arctos) followed since birth, we discerned the relative contributions of environmental similarity, genetic heritability, maternal effects, and offspring social learning from the mother to individual specialization. Individual specialization accounted for 43% of phenotypic variation and spanned half a trophic position, with individual diets ranging from omnivorous to carnivor

SUBMITTER: Hertel AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11607087 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature