Herbivore paleodiet and paleoenvironmental changes in Chad during the Pliocene using stable isotope ratios of tooth enamel carbonate

Paleobiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Zazzo ◽  
Hervé Bocherens ◽  
Daniel Billiou ◽  
André Mariotti ◽  
Michel Brunet ◽  
...  

Chad is a key region for understanding early hominid geographic expansion in relation to late Miocene and Pliocene environmental changes, owing to its location 2500 km west from the Rift Valley and to the occurrence of sites ranging in age from about 6 to 3 Ma, some of which yield fossil hominids. To reconstruct changes in herbivore paleodiet and therefore changes in the paleoenvironment, we measured the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of 80 tooth-enamel samples from three time horizons for nine families of Perissodactyla, Proboscidea, and Artiodactyla. The absence of significant alteration of in vivo isotopic signatures can be determined for carbon, thus allowing paleodietary and paleoenvironmental interpretations to be made.While the results generally confirm previous dietary hypotheses, mostly based on relative crown height, there are some notable surprises. The main discrepancies are found among low-crowned proboscideans (e.g., Anancus) and high-crowned rhinocerotids (Ceratotherium). Both species were more opportunistic feeders than it is usually believed. This result confirms that ancient feeding ecology cannot always be inferred from dental morphology or extant relatives.There is an increase in the average carbon isotope composition of tooth enamel from the oldest unit to the youngest, suggesting that the environment became richer in C4 plants with time. In turn, more C4 plants indicate an opening of the plant cover during this period. This increase in carbon isotope composition is also recorded within genera such as Nyanzachoerus, Ceratotherium, and Hexaprotodon, indicating a change from a C3-dominated to a C4-dominated diet over time. It appears that, unlike other middle Pliocene hominid sites in eastern and southern Africa, this part of Chad was characterized by very open conditions and that savanna-like grasslands were already dominant when hominids were present in the area.

2013 ◽  
Vol 92 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. Schulp ◽  
H.B. Vonhof ◽  
J.H.J.L. van der Lubbe ◽  
R. Janssen ◽  
R.R. van Baal

AbstractThe carbon isotope composition of tooth enamel from all five mosasaur taxa known to date from the type Maastrichtian (southeast Netherlands, northeast Belgium) has been analysed. Differences in enamel δ13C values between taxa suggest resource partitioning. Body size and δ13C value correlate surprisingly well, with larger taxa having δ13C values more depleted in the heavier 13C isotope.


2005 ◽  
Vol 221 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 153-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Renaud Boisserie ◽  
Antoine Zazzo ◽  
Gildas Merceron ◽  
Cécile Blondel ◽  
Patrick Vignaud ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina V Prasolova ◽  
Zhihong Xu ◽  
Graham D Farquhar ◽  
Paul G Saffigna ◽  
Mark J Dieters

Carbon isotope composition (δ13C), oxygen isotope composition (δ18O), and nitrogen concentration (Nmass) of branchlet tissue at two canopy positions were assessed for glasshouse seedlings and 9-year-old hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii Ait. ex D. Don) trees from 22 open-pollinated families grown in 5 blocks of a progeny test at a water-limited and nitrogen-deficient site in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Significant variations in canopy δ13C, δ18O, and Nmass existed among the 9-year-old hoop pine families, with a heritability estimate of 0.72 for branchlet δ13C from the upper inner canopy position. There was significant variation in canopy δ13C of glasshouse seedlings between canopy positions and among the families, with a heritability estimate of 0.66. The canopy δ13C was positively related to canopy Nmass only for the upper outer crown in the field (R = 0.62, p < 0.001). Phenotypic correlations existed between tree height and canopy δ13C (R = 0.37–0.41, p < 0.001). Strong correlations were found between family canopy δ13C at this site and those at a wetter site and between field canopy δ13C and glasshouse seedling δ13C. The mechanisms of the variation in canopy δ13C are discussed in relation to canopy photosynthetic capacity as reflected in the Nmass and stomatal conductance as indexed by canopy δ18O.


2021 ◽  
Vol 565 ◽  
pp. 116932
Author(s):  
Hao Yan ◽  
Wolfgang Dreybrodt ◽  
Huiming Bao ◽  
Yongbo Peng ◽  
Yu Wei ◽  
...  

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