Tooth microwear pattern in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) from Chize (Western France) and relation to food composition

This study was designed to correlate the dental microwear pattern in a population of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) with seasonal dietary data. Fifty roe deer specimens from the Chize Forest in western France provides the material of this study. The shearing facet of the second molars is digitized using a 256 level gray scale light stereomicroscope equipped with a CCD camera. Numbers and dimensions of scratches and pits are quantified using a semi-automatic protocol. Considering the population as a whole, the results are consistent with previous dental microwear analysis and suggest a browsing diet (sensu lato). In fact, the percentage of pits exceeds 50%, which is correlated with a browsing and not grazing. Furthermore, the dental microwear excludes foraging on tubers or roots. Although no significant differences are found between sexes, males from the autumn sample have a higher number of scratches on the shearing molar facets than the females. This may be correlated with the more important intake of fruits by males than females during the rutting period. The number of scratches also suggests a dietary difference between two seasonal clusters. Summer and autumnal samples have a higher frequency of highly scratched dental facets that correlate with the fruit consumption by the roe deer during these periods. Fewer dental pits were found in the roe deer sampled during summer and spring than during the other seasons. This suggests seasonal diet shifts among plant life forms with consumption of soft green leaves during the spring and summer. In winter and autumn, the roe deer feeds often on dead leaves, acorns and ivy. These food items are often consumed with sand or bark particles during the prehension of the food, this would increase the likelihood of more pits than would occur with soft semi-ligneous leaves. This seasonal dental microwear pattern has revealed a relationship between seasonal food availability and deer diets. The dental microwear analysis on this population of roe deer will help determine the paleodietary patterns of extinct ungulates. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.