Dietary Niche Partitioning among Magdalenian Canids in Southwestern Germany and Switzerland

Fox (Vulpes vulpes and Vulpes lagopus), wolf (Canis lupus) and dog (Canis lupus familiaris) remains are commonly found in the faunal assemblages of Magdalenian sites in Central Europe. However, little is known about their ecology in terms of food preference and niche partitioning. We hypothesize that domestication leads to a new trophic niche for dogs and even for commensal animals, such as foxes, compared to their wild counterparts (i.e. wolves and wild non-commensal foxes). To test our hypothesis, we used stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) of bone collagen extracted from canid bones from several Magdalenian sites in southwestern Germany and Switzerland (between 17,000 and 13,000 years ago). We then ran Bayesian statistic systems (SIBER, mixSIAR) to reconstruct the trophic niches and diets of Magdalenian canids. We conclude that a significant niche partitioning of canids is reflected in their carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. Furthermore, we were able to distinguish between the niche of dogs and individual commensal foxes on the one hand, and wolves on the other hand. We suggest that while wolves had permanent, unrestricted access to all types of dietary resources coming from a diversity of prey species, the diet of dogs was controlled by humans. Most of the foxes built their own niche with a diet primarily comprised of small mammals. However, some red foxes showed commensal relationships in their reconstructed diet to dogs and wolves.