The effects of climate and plant phenological changes on herbivorous species are widely recognized, yet less research has focused on omnivorous and carnivorous species, even though they also have vegetative components to their diet. The historical focus on predators regarding simple interactions between obligate carnivores and their prey over-simplifies many species’ roles within ecological communities by casting them purely as predators and minimizes other, equally important roles within the community. We used a long-term, individual-based data set on a polyphagous mammal, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), to estimate diet over 25 years identify long-term patterns and factors contributing to annual variation in diet. We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values measured in hair and Bayesian mixing models to determine annual diet among three demographic bear classes, and then used linear regression models to relate diet to indices of food availability. We found that while diet varied among years and demographic classes, variation in both carbon and nitrogen values were explained by bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) productivity. Additionally, proportions of animal-derived foods decreased through time, while proportions of bilberry increased, even as the moose population in Sweden increased over this same period. While meat and animal-derived foods are considered higher quality foods for bears, bear diet did not respond to changing moose availability. Our results highlight that even though vegetative diet components in predators are typically considered less important to predator ecology, brown bears in Sweden responded to changes in primary production, regardless of prey availability. It will be crucial to put more emphasis on the vegetative parts of diets as we predict how species and ecological communities respond to climate change because predators serve many more functions within their community besides predation alone.

Long-distance migratory shorebird populations are experiencing widespread global declines. However, challenges exist in accurately tracing full hemispheric movements throughout the annual cycle, which has implications for monitoring population dynamics through time. Measurements of naturally occurring stable isotope abundance in avian tissues are an effective means to infer movement and migration, particularly when mark-recapture approaches are not feasible. We analyzed stable isotopes (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) of winter-grown flight feathers of Sanderling (Calidris alba) collected from (a) individuals of known wintering origin throughout North and South America and (b) migrants of unknown origin captured at a major northern staging site at Chaplin Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada, in the Midcontinent flyway (2012-2020). The goal was to classify overwintering locations of the migrant population and assess whether winter origin was associated with morphometrics on the northern staging grounds. Feathers sampled from known-origin birds wintering at three latitudinally distinct sites (coastal Texas, USA; Paracas, Peru; Chiloé Island, Chile) were isotopically distinct but showed overlapping isotope values with Chaplin Lake staging migrants. Chaplin Lake migrant Sanderlings were separated into five unique isotopic clusters representing potential distinct wintering populations and the relative proportions of migrants from each cluster varied among years. Isotopic clusters were associated with wing length and probable migration distance. Discriminant function analysis classified the majority (70%) of Sanderling captured at Chaplin Lake with winter origins in the US coastal Texas region, while another 8% likely wintered in coastal Peru, 6% in coastal Chile, and 15% were of unknown winter origin. Band resights of overwintering birds throughout the Americas further validated isotopic assignments. With increased knowledge of range-wide isotopic differences in winter-grown feathers, wing morphology, and moult schedules, feather isotopic assignment of wintering origin is a powerful tool to apply throughout flyways to better understand the connectivity of distinct shorebird populations and complement population monitoring efforts

We investigated the stable isotope hydrology of Sable Island, NS, Canada over a four year period from September, 2017 until August, 2021. The δ 2 H and δ 18 O values of inte- grated monthly precipitation were weakly seasonal and ranged from -66 to -17 per mil and from -9.7 to -3.1 per mil, respectively. Fitting these monthly precipitation data resulted in a Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) defined by: δ 2 H = 7.28 ± 0.22×δ 18 O + 7.95 ± 1.38 per mil. Amount weighted annual precipitation had δ 2 H and δ 18 O values of -37 ± 12 per mil and -6.1 ± 1.6 per mil, respectively. Deep groundwater had more negative δ 2 H and δ 18 O values than mean annual precipitation, suggesting recharge oc- curs mainly in the winter, while shallow groundwater had δ 2 H and δ 18 O values more consistent with mean annual precipitation or mixing of freshwater with local seawater. Surface waters had more positive values and showed evidence of isolation from the groundwater system. The stable isotopic compositions of plant(leaf) water, on the other hand, indicate plants use groundwater as their source. Fog had δ 2 H and δ 18 O values that were significantly more positive than those of local precipitation, yet had similar 17 O-excess values. Our results establish an important framework for ongoing isotopic studies of feral horses and other wildlife on Sable Island.