Historical dietary ecology of the Yellow-backed Duiker traces dietary change across the 20th century

Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is a versatile tool used to infer diet across an array of animal species. It has been used to explore differences in diet across species, habitat, climate, and both historical and deep time. This study sought to explore the historical dietary ecology of the Yellow-backed Duiker Cephalophus silvicultor to assess how their diet has changed over time, in this near-threatened species. We used DMTA of C. silvicultor from across the 20 th century, as well as that from other African bovids including two species of duiker ( Philantomba monticola and Sylvicapra grimmia ) to reconstruct dietary ecology. Additionally, we ran these data through principal component and quadratic discriminant analysis to create a model to predict foraging ecology. The results show significant increases in complexity and decreases in anisotropy over time, as well as significant differences between cephalophines of the same size or guild. Our model was also very effective at correctly classifying individuals within their observed guild. Notably, our sample of duikers exhibited significant differences in dental microwear despite phylogenetic similarity. This further supports DMTA more strongly reflecting ecological behavior rather than phylogeny. Additionally, the increase in complexity and decrease in anisotropy are consistent with a greater contribution of hard or brittle foods and/or reduced consumption of tough foods over time by Yellow-backed duikers. These patterns may reflect changes in resource use, habitat loss, hunting pressure, or other ecological factors, hinting at potential responses of animals to anthropogenic stresses in the future.