Unraveling Omnivory and Community Interactions Between Primary Producers and an Apex Predator.

ABSTRACT: The effects of climate and plant phenological changes on herbivorous species are widely recognized, yet less research has focused on predatory species, even though vegetative components can account for large proportions of their diet. The historical focus on predation through the lens of simple interactions between obligate carnivores and their prey oversimplifies many species' roles within ecological communities and minimizes other, equally important community functions. We used a long-term, individual-based dataset on an omnivorous species, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), to identify long-term diet patterns and factors contributing to annual variation in diet. We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes measured in hair and Bayesian mixing models to determine annual diet among thre

SUBMITTER: Mikkelsen AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11974456 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature