Data from: The diverse dietary profiles of MIS 3 cave bears from the Romanian Carpathians: insights from stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analysis

Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been considered
to be largely vegetarian, although stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N
values) from the Romanian Carpathians has suggested considerable dietary
variation. Here we evaluate previous and additional adult cave bear
isotopic data from four Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) sites in the
Carpathians. Peştera Urşilor (N = 35), Peştera Cioclovina (N = 32),
Peştera Muierilor (N = 8), and Peştera cu Oase (N = 72) provide both a
dichotomy between samples suggesting vegetarian diets (from Cioclovina and
Muierilor) and more omnivorous diets (from Urşilor and Oase), and
considerable isotopic variation within samples from each site. While an
inference of a strictly vegetarian diet may apply to groups that lived in
ecosystems which restricted the available animal protein for these large
ursids, the within and between sample isotopic variation among the
Carpathian cave bears indicates considerable flexibility in their sources
of protein and hence in their dietary regimes. In addition, developmental
assessment of Cioclovina isotopic profiles (neonates, juveniles,
sub-adults and adults) provides patterns of transfer of stable isotope
signatures throughout immature life for both δ13C and δ15N (increase and
decrease, respectively), whereas those from Urşilor show little
developmental shift.