The Quaternary is a period of considerable climatic change. Climatic fluctuations have been subject to numerous studies based on various scientific disciplines (e.g., geology, sedimentology, palynology) that now enable us to reconstruct the paleoclimates of the last glacial period with some accuracy. In Israel such studies tell us of shifts in both ambient temperatures and in humidity. These paleoclimatic changes had paleoecological effect. Studying the paleoecology of the fauna of Israel may give us a key to understanding the effects of past climatic shifts, and to predicting the impact of future climatic change in this country.
Here I follow changes in distribution, diversity, and morphology of carnivores throughout the last glacial of Israel. Size increase and shifts in distribution occurred in some carnivore species, and overall there is a strong correlation between humidity and species diversity. Carnivores typically exhibit wide geographic distributions, and wide environmental tolerance. Therefore paleoecological effects of paleoclimatic shifts in carnivores may indicate similar effects in other, less euryecious, terrestrial mammals.