Data for: Sub-zero temperatures and large-scale weather patterns induce tooth damage in Icelandic arctic foxes

<p><span>Tooth damage in carnivores can reflect shifts in both diet and feeding habits, and in large carnivores it is associated with increased bone consumption. Variation in tooth condition in Icelandic arctic foxes, a mesocarnivore, was recorded from 854 individual foxes spanning 29 years. We hypothesized that annual climatic variations, which can influence food abundance and accessibility, will influence tooth condition by causing dietary shifts toward less edible prey. We examined tooth condition in relation to four climatic predictors: mean annual winter temperature, indices of both the El Ni</span><span>ñ</span><span>o anomaly and North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG), and the number of rain-on-snow days (ROS). We found</span> unequivocal evidence for a strong effect of annual climate on tooth condition. <span>Teeth of Icelandic foxes were in better condition</span> <span>when </span>winter temperature<span>s were higher</span>, <span>when the </span><span>SPG</span><span> was </span>more positive, and <span>when the </span>number of <span>ROS was low. We also found </span>a substantial subregional effect with foxes from northeastern Iceland having lower tooth <span>damage</span> than those <span>from</span> <span>two</span> western sites. <span>Contradicting our original hypothesis that foxes</span> from northeastern Iceland<span>, </span>where <span>foxes are known to scavenge on </span>large mammal remains<span> (e.g., sheep and horses),</span> would show the highest tooth <span>damage, we suggest that</span> western <span>coastal </span>sites exhibited greater tooth <span>damage because</span> cold <span>winter</span> <span>temperatures </span>lower<span>ed</span> the availability of seabirds<span>,</span> causing a shift in diet toward <span>abrasive </span>marine subsidies <span>(e.g., bivalves) and </span>frozen beach wrack. <span>O</span>ur study shows that monitoring tooth breakage and wear can be a useful tool <span>for</span> evaluat<span>ing</span> the impact of climate on carnivore populations <span>and that climate change may influence the condition and fitness of carnivores in complex and potentially conflicting ways</span>.</p>