Nature of the Beast? Resolving the paleoecological history of the wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758)

The wolf (Canis lupus L. 1758) was a keystone predator throughout the Pleistocene in Europe and is a prime candidate for exploring past carnivore community and herbivore interactions, having persisted through multiple climatic cycles during the Quaternary. Wolves play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity, particularly in keeping mammalian herbivore and medium-sized carnivore numbers in check and thereby limiting over-browsing on vegetation and over-predation on small vertebrates respectively. Wolves further exert important indirect controls on ecosystem structure, riparian environments and the activities of foundation species such as beaver, as well as subduing mesocarnivore numbers, with associated benefits for birds and small mammals. The ripples from their activity can therefore be felt in diverse positive ways throughout the ecosystem but serious concerns exist as to the viability of European wolf populations under different scenarios of environmental and climate change. Although predatory behaviour is well documented in modern wolves, the short time scales (years to decades) of neoecological studies do not allow longer term patterns and any ensuing morphological responses to be captured. A continuous chronological perspective is therefore essential to progress our understanding. Our current project combines the study of diet and morphology in modern European wolves with that of British Pleistocene wolves, where a rich fossil record offers a chronologically well-resolved series of specimens spanning tens to hundreds of thousands of years. A key goal is therefore to understand how wolves have adapted to changing circumstances so that current and future conservation policy can be appropriately tailored. Here, we present variation in British fossil wolf diets to assess the impact of forcing factors such as changes in climate, environment, prey community and carnivore competition on feeding behaviour and the rates of change at which these occur. A multiproxy and multiscalar approach is adopted, combining direct measurement of wolf paleodiet through stable isotope analysis and dental microwear texture analysis. A more comprehensive understanding of carnivore community ecology and interactions in Pleistocene Britain will contribute to scientific understanding of the practicalities of re-wilding using extirpated, native large carnivores.