The sensitivity of Neotoma to climate change and biodiversity loss over the late Quaternary

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Catalina P. Tomé ◽  
S. Kathleen Lyons ◽  
Seth D. Newsome ◽  
Felisa A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene

Abstract The late Quaternary in North America was marked by highly variable climate and considerable biodiversity loss including a megafaunal extinction event at the terminal Pleistocene. Here, we focus on changes in body size and diet in Neotoma (woodrats) in response to these ecological perturbations using the fossil record from the Edwards Plateau (Texas) across the past 20,000 years. Body mass was estimated using measurements of fossil teeth and diet was quantified using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen from fossil bone collagen. Prior to ca. 7000 cal yr BP, maximum mass was positively correlated to precipitation and negatively correlated to temperature. Independently, mass was negatively correlated to community composition, becoming more similar to modern over time. Neotoma diet in the Pleistocene was primarily sourced from C3 plants, but became progressively more reliant on C4 (and potentially CAM) plants through the Holocene. Decreasing population mass and higher C4/CAM consumption was associated with a transition from a mesic to xeric landscape. Our results suggest that Neotoma responded to climatic variability during the terminal Pleistocene through changes in body size, while changes in resource availability during the Holocene likely led to shifts in the relative abundance of different Neotoma species in the community.

Reconstructed Paleodiets and Subsistence Strategies of the Central Ciscaucasian Population (1000 BC to 1000 AD), Based on Collagen Isotope Analysis of Bone Samples from the Kichmalka II Burial Ground

2022 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
A. N. Babenko ◽  
M. V. Dobrovolskaya ◽  
E. E. Vasilyeva ◽  
D. S. Korobov
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Anthropogenic Effect ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Animal Bone

Settlement and economy patterns of the Iron Age and early medieval population of the Central North Caucasus evidence complex cultural processes in the region. The ecological approach including the evaluation of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the local biota opens up new prospects in the study of environments, climate, anthropogenic effect, land use, and nutrition. We analyze the isotopic composition of collagen in 19 human and 11 animal bone samples from Kichmalka II—a cemetery successively used by the Koban people, those of the Sarmatian stage, and Alans. The isotopic composition of the Alanian sample indicates a heavy predominance of plants with the C3-type photosynthesis in the diet of humans and animals. People who lived during the Koban and Sarmatian stages consumed also C4-plants, such as common millet (Panicum miliaceum), suggesting the rise of the trophic step for carbon (Δδ13Chuman-animal). Statistically signifi cant differences in the isotopic composition of carbon were found within the Koban population, apparently evidencing two dietary models. The Δδ15Nhuman-animal values fall within the trophic step, mirroring a focus on meat and dairy products in the diet of all groups. Comparison with respective data on the Klin-Yar III cemetery revealed differences in isotopic signatures in the diet of both humans and domestic animals during the Koban period. The possible reason is climatic change in the Iron Age and the variable share of millet in the diet of the Koban people. The low proportion of δ15N (below 4 ‰) in the bone collagen of goat, sheep, and horse of the Alanian period may attest to vertical transhumance.

scholarly journals Ancient Beringian paleodiets revealed through multiproxy stable isotope analyses

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (36) ◽  
pp. eabc1968
Author(s):  
Carrin M. Halffman ◽  
Ben A. Potter ◽  
Holly J. McKinney ◽  
Takumi Tsutaya ◽  
Bruce P. Finney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Essential Amino Acids ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Isotope Analyses

The earliest Native Americans have often been portrayed as either megafaunal specialists or generalist foragers, but this debate cannot be resolved by studying the faunal record alone. Stable isotope analysis directly reveals the foods consumed by individuals. We present multi-tissue isotope analyses of two Ancient Beringian infants from the Upward Sun River site (USR), Alaska (~11,500 years ago). Models of fetal bone turnover combined with seasonally-sensitive taxa show that the carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of USR infant bone collagen reflects maternal diets over the summer. Using comparative faunal isotope data, we demonstrate that although terrestrial sources dominated maternal diets, salmon was also important, supported by carbon isotope analysis of essential amino acids and bone bioapatite. Tooth enamel samples indicate increased salmon use between spring and summer. Our results do not support either strictly megafaunal specialists or generalized foragers but indicate that Ancient Beringian diets were complex and seasonally structured.

Isotopic niche of the American pika (Ochotona princeps) through space and time

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 515-526
Author(s):  
M.L. Westover ◽  
K.A. Lizewski ◽  
K.B. Klingler ◽  
F.A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Ochotona Princeps ◽  
Forage Plants ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Local Extirpation ◽  
American Pika

Anthropogenic climate change is influencing the ecology and distribution of animals. The American pika (Ochotona princeps (Richardson, 1828)) is considered a model species for studying the effects of climate on small alpine mammals and has experienced local extirpation across its range. Using stable isotope analysis of two seasonal molts and bone collagen, we characterize the isotopic carbon and nitrogen niche of pika populations across their range and through time. We find pika isotopic diet to be stable across both time and space compared with other animals and considering the geographic and environmental extent of their range. We find that climatic, not geographic, factors explain part of the isotopic variation across their range. Both δ13C and δ15N from the fall-onset molt decrease with relative humidity of the environment and δ15N values from bone collagen increase with temperature and precipitation. We find a small but significant seasonal difference in δ13C, which could be explained by microbial enrichment of cached haypiles. We establish a baseline of pika isotopic diet and patterns related to climate across their range. We conclude that differences in isotopic signature between pika populations likely reflect the physiology of their forage plants in different environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Re-approaching palaeodiet in the Andes: use and application of sulphur isotope analysis in reconstructing Peruvian palaeodiet

COMPASS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine G. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Sulphur Isotope ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Direct Indication ◽  
Application Potential ◽  
Isotope Studies

This research critically examines palaeodietary analyses in ancient Peru. Research is often approached using ceramics, flora, and faunal remains to examine human diet and behaviour prior to written records however these remains may not be indicative of items used exclusively for subsistence. More directed approaches employ stable isotope analyses of human remains as these data can provide direct indication of foods consumed during life. Peruvian isotope studies focus on 13C-enrichment patterns, and follow the premise that maize (corn) was the main source of 13C-enrichment recorded in bone collagen. Recent studies in Peru have identified other dietary sources that cause similar enrichment patterns, including kiwicha (pseudocereal), marine protein (e.g. shellfish, fish, and seals), and mococho (seaweed). As a result, additional methodologies must be employed to more sufficiently identify sources of subsistence in ancient Peru. I propose that stable sulphur isotope methodology may be used to overcome the issues presented. By critically reviewing previous palaeodietary analyses of Peru I examine current limitations and overview the application potential of carbon and nitrogen isotope studies complemented with sulphur isotope analysis of human and faunal remains within a Peruvian context. Ultimately I advocate for a more comprehensive approach to Peruvian palaeodiet.

Late Quaternary sedimentology and geochronology of small playas on the Southern High Plains, Texas and New Mexico, U.S.A.

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vance T. Holliday ◽  
James H. Mayer ◽  
Glen G. Fredlund
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Eolian Dust ◽  
C Isotopes ◽  
Eolian Sand ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene

AbstractPlayas are small, circular basins forming a ubiquitous component of the southern High Plains landscape. They are filled with carbonaceous mud deposited since the terminal Pleistocene. The stratigraphy and geochronology of 30 playas was investigated to better understand the paleoenvironmental record of basin filling. At the base of the fill in some playas is a well sorted eolian sand dated between ~ 13,000 and ~ 11,000 14C yr BP. The beginning of mud deposition, representing aggradation of eolian dust on a moist, vegetated playa floor was largely between ~ 12,000 and ~ 10,500 14C yr BP. Playa filling slowed ~ 9000 to ~ 4000 14C yr BP, probably due to dry conditions, increased ~ 4000 to ~ 2000 14C yr BP, then slowed again. Eolian sand and loam, likely representing regional aridity, accumulated in some basins episodically just prior to ~ 10,700 14C yr BP, between ~ 8600 and ~ 4700 14C yr BP, and at ~ 1300 14C yr BP. Stable C isotopes from one basin indicate that the playa was inundated only seasonally throughout the record beginning ~ 11,500 14C yr BP. The phytolith record in that basin indicates an abrupt shift toward cooling ~ 11,400 to ~ 11,200 14C yr BP and then increasing importance of xeric-adapted C4 grasses through the Holocene.

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