Dynamic omnivory shapes the functional role of large carnivores under global change
Omnivory is increasingly recognized as a dynamic stabilizing force under environmental change. Despite its ubiquity across ecosystems, trophic levels and spatiotemporal scales, our empirical understanding of how omnivores respond to changing conditions in terrestrial ecosystems is limited. Here we combine macroecological and paleoecological approaches across seven bear species-the largest terrestrial carnivores-and discover they dynamically adapt their trophic position in food webs to resource availability. Throughout their ranges, bears shift to carnivory in unproductive ecosystems with short growing seasons and to herbivory in productive ecosystems with long growing seasons. In line with this, isotopic evidence from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene reveals a sharp decrease in the trophic position of the European brown bear in response to increasing net primary productivity and growing season length. These findings reveal a mechanism of trophic rewiring that alters the functional role of large carnivores in ecosystems and may simultaneously stabilize food web dynamics under global change.
Authors
- Nuria Selva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3389-201X)
- Agnieszka Sergiel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3455-4218)
- Susanne A. Fritz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4085-636X)
- Grzegorz Lipecki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2650-9385)
- Jon E. Swenson
- Andreas Zedrosser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4417-3037)
- René Kyselý (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0788-7287)
- Tomasz Zwijacz‐Kozica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7488-975X)
- Eloy Revilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5534-5581)
- Keith A. Hobson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2525-1178)
- Dorothée G. Drucker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0854-4371)
- Elisabeth Iregren
- Jörg Albrecht (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9708-9413)
- Daniel Makowiecki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-4627)
- Adrian Marciszak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1472-6553)
- Leena Drenzel
- Jan Wagner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4589-6977)
- Hervé Bocherens
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA)
- SUNY New Paltz (US)
- Lund University (SE)
- National Museum (CZ)
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE)
- Roztocze National Park (PL)
- University of South-Eastern Norway (NO)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (DE)
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES)
- Institute of Archaeology (RU)
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, Prague (CZ)
- National Historical Museums (SE)
- Institute of Nature Conservation (PL)
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals (PL)
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- Universidad de Huelva (ES)
- University of Tübingen (DE)
- BOKU University (AT)
- Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65959-7
- Primary Topic
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Research Centre
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft