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Pascual-Garrido A, Carvalho S, Almeida-Warren K. Primate archaeology 3.0. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24835. [PMID: 37671610 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
The new field of primate archaeology investigates the technological behavior and material record of nonhuman primates, providing valuable comparative data on our understanding of human technological evolution. Yet, paralleling hominin archaeology, the field is largely biased toward the analysis of lithic artifacts. While valuable comparative data have been gained through an examination of extant nonhuman primate tool use and its archaeological record, focusing on this one single aspect provides limited insights. It is therefore necessary to explore to what extent other non-technological activities, such as non-tool aided feeding, traveling, social behaviors or ritual displays, leave traces that could be detected in the archaeological record. Here we propose four new areas of investigation which we believe have been largely overlooked by primate archaeology and that are crucial to uncovering the full archaeological potential of the primate behavioral repertoire, including that of our own: (1) Plant technology; (2) Archaeology beyond technology; (3) Landscape archaeology; and (4) Primate cultural heritage. We discuss each theme in the context of the latest developments and challenges, as well as propose future directions. Developing a more "inclusive" primate archaeology will not only benefit the study of primate evolution in its own right but will aid conservation efforts by increasing our understanding of changes in primate-environment interactions over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Pascual-Garrido
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
| | - Katarina Almeida-Warren
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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2
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Paine OCC, Daegling DJ. The game of models: Dietary reconstruction in human evolution. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103295. [PMID: 36521317 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite substantial additions to the paleontological record and unanticipated improvements in analytical techniques since the Journal of Human Evolution was first published, consensus on the diet of early hominin species remains elusive. For instance, the notable advances in the analyses of hominin dental microwear and stable isotopes have provided a plethora of data that have in some instances clouded what was once ostensibly a clear picture of dietary differentiation between and within hominin taxa. In the present study, we explore the reasons why the retrodiction of diet in human evolution has proven vexing over the last half century from the perspective of both ecological and functional-mechanical models. Such models continue to be indispensable for paleobiological reconstructions, but they often contain rigid or unstated assumptions about how primary paleontological data, such as fossils and their geological and taphonomic contexts, allow unambiguous insight into the evolutionary processes that produced them. In theoretical discussions of paleobiology, it has long been recognized that a mapping function of morphology to adaptation is not one-to-one, in the sense that a particular trait cannot necessarily be attributed to a specific selective pressure and/or behavior. This article explores how the intrinsic variability within biological systems has often been underappreciated in paleoanthropological research. For instance, to claim that derived anatomical traits represent adaptations related to stereotypical behaviors largely ignores the importance of biological roles (i.e., how anatomical traits function in the environment), a concept that depends on behavioral flexibility for its potency. Similarly, in the paleoecological context, the underrepresentation of variability within the 'edible landscapes' our hominin ancestors occupied has inhibited an adequate appreciation of early hominin dietary flexibility. Incorporating the reality of variation at organismal and ecological scales makes the practice of paleobiological reconstruction more challenging, but in return, allows for a better appreciation of the evolutionary possibilities that were open to early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver C C Paine
- Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA.
| | - David J Daegling
- Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
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3
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Lowry BE, Wittig RM, Pittermann J, Oelze VM. Stratigraphy of stable isotope ratios and leaf structure within an African rainforest canopy with implications for primate isotope ecology. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14222. [PMID: 34244559 PMCID: PMC8270916 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93589-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The canopy effect describes vertical variation in the isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) and partially nitrogen (δ15N) within plants throughout a closed canopy forest, and may facilitate the study of canopy feeding niches in arboreal primates. However, the nuanced relationship between leaf height, sunlight exposure and the resulting variation in isotope ratios and leaf mass per area (LMA) has not been documented for an African rainforest. Here, we present δ13C, δ18O and δ15N values of leaves (n = 321) systematically collected from 58 primate food plants throughout the canopy (0.3 to 42 m) in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Besides leaf sample height and light availability, we measured leaf nitrogen and carbon content (%N, %C), as well as LMA (n = 214) to address the plants' vertical resource allocations. We found significant variation in δ13C, δ18O and δ15N, as well as LMA in response to height in combination with light availability and tree species, with low canopy leaves depleted in 13C, 18O and 15N and slightly higher in %N compared to higher canopy strata. While this vertical isotopic variation was not well reflected in the δ13C and δ15N of arboreal primates from this forest, it did correspond well to primate δ18O values.
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Affiliation(s)
- B E Lowry
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA
| | - R M Wittig
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, B.P. 1303, Abidjan 01, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - J Pittermann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA
| | - V M Oelze
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA.
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4
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard A Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052;
| | - David B Patterson
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
- Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA 30597
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5
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Inter-individual variation in the diet within a group of Japanese macaques and its relationship with social structure investigated by stable isotope and DNA analyses. Primates 2020; 62:103-112. [PMID: 32617910 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00840-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
We investigated individual variation in diet in relation to age-sex class and kin relationship in 28 of 40 members of a small group of wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We used stable isotope ratios from hair as an index of individual dietary profiles, genetic relatedness as an index of kin relationship, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype as a marker of being an immigrant or native member of the group. The range of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios from hair of individual macaques (δ13C: -24.1‰ to -22.6‰, δ15N:3.8-5.5‰), which reflected their diet over a period of ~ 6 months, implied small individual variation in diet. The results of PERMANOVA implied that there were no significant effects of age class, sex, or mtDNA haplotype on hair stable isotope ratios between individuals, or on the variation in individual diet. However, the isotope values of males with mtDNA haplotypes that differed from those of the native females appeared to differ from those of other group members, which implies that immigrant males might have had a different diet profile from that of native group members. Furthermore, there was a weak correlation trend between genetic relatedness and differences in stable isotope ratios between pairs of individuals. Differences in stable isotope values were more marked in pairs with a more distant genetic relationship. This implies that within the group, closely related kin tended to forage together to avoid competing for food. However, this effect might have been weak because the size of the group was small relative to the size of the food patches, thereby reducing competition.
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6
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Swedell L, Plummer T. Social evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins: Insights from hamadryas baboons and paleoecology. J Hum Evol 2019; 137:102667. [PMID: 31629289 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Reconstructions of hominin evolution have long benefited from comparisons with nonhuman primates, especially baboons and chimpanzees. The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) is arguably one of the best such models, as it exhibits both the male kin bonding and the cross-sex pair bonding thought to have been important in hominin evolution. Here we link processes of behavioral evolution in hamadryas baboons with those in a Plio-Pleistocene hominin, provisionally identified as Homo erectus (sensu lato) - a pivotal species in that its larger body and brain size and wider ranging patterns increased female costs of reproduction, increasing the importance of sociality. The combination of these higher costs of reproduction and shifts in diet and food acquisition have previously been argued to have been alleviated either via strengthening of male-female bonds (involving male provisioning and the evolution of monogamy) or via the assistance of older, post-reproductive females (leading to post-reproductive longevity in females, i.e., the grandmother hypothesis). We suggest that both arrangements could have been present in Plio-Pleistocene hominins if they lived in multilevel societies. Here we expand on our earlier scenario with two sets of recent data in support of it, (1) archaeological data from the 2 million year old Oldowan site of Kanjera South, Kenya and other sites that are suggestive of tool dependent foraging on nutrient dense resources (animal carcasses and plant underground storage organs), cooperation, and food sharing; and (2) a pattern of genetic variation in hamadryas baboons that suggests the operation of kin selection among both males and females at multiple levels of society. Taken together, these two sets of data strengthen our model and support the idea of a complex society linked by male-male, male-female, and female-female bonds at multiple levels of social organization in Plio-Pleistocene hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Swedell
- Dept of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Biology and Psychology Programs, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Dept of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Thomas Plummer
- Dept of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
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7
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Quinn RL. Isotopic equifinality and rethinking the diet of
Australopithecus anamensis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:403-421. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rhonda L. Quinn
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social WorkSeton Hall University South Orange New Jersey
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesRutgers University Piscataway New Jersey
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8
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Hare VJ, Loftus E, Jeffrey A, Ramsey CB. Atmospheric CO 2 effect on stable carbon isotope composition of terrestrial fossil archives. Nat Commun 2018; 9:252. [PMID: 29343713 PMCID: PMC5772509 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02691-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The 13C/12C ratio of C3 plant matter is thought to be controlled by the isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 and stomatal response to environmental conditions, particularly mean annual precipitation (MAP). The effect of CO2 concentration on 13C/12C ratios is currently debated, yet crucial to reconstructing ancient environments and quantifying the carbon cycle. Here we compare high-resolution ice core measurements of atmospheric CO2 with fossil plant and faunal isotope records. We show the effect of pCO2 during the last deglaciation is stronger for gymnosperms (-1.4 ± 1.2‰) than angiosperms/fauna (-0.5 ± 1.5‰), while the contributions from changing MAP are -0.3 ± 0.6‰ and -0.4 ± 0.4‰, respectively. Previous studies have assumed that plant 13C/12C ratios are mostly determined by MAP, an assumption which is sometimes incorrect in geological time. Atmospheric effects must be taken into account when interpreting terrestrial stable carbon isotopes, with important implications for past environments and climates, and understanding plant responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Hare
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK.
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA.
| | - Emma Loftus
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
- Merton College, University of Oxford, Merton Street, Oxford, OX1 4JD, UK
| | - Amy Jeffrey
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
| | - Christopher Bronk Ramsey
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
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9
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Was Mesopithecus a seed eating colobine? Assessment of cracking, grinding and shearing ability using dental topography. J Hum Evol 2017; 112:79-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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10
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Kaczensky P, Burnik Šturm M, Sablin MV, Voigt CC, Smith S, Ganbaatar O, Balint B, Walzer C, Spasskaya NN. Stable isotopes reveal diet shift from pre-extinction to reintroduced Przewalski's horses. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5950. [PMID: 28729625 PMCID: PMC5519547 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05329-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), the only remaining wild horse within the equid family, is one of only a handful of species worldwide that went extinct in the wild, was saved by captive breeding, and has been successfully returned to the wild. However, concerns remain that after multiple generations in captivity the ecology of the Przewalski's horse and / or the ecological conditions in its former range have changed in a way compromising the species' long term survival. We analyzed stable isotope chronologies from tail hair of pre-extinction and reintroduced Przewalski's horses from the Dzungarian Gobi and detected a clear difference in the isotopic dietary composition. The direction of the dietary shift from being a mixed feeder in winter and a grazer in summer in the past, to a year-round grazer nowadays, is best explained by a release from human hunting pressure. A changed, positive societal attitude towards the species allows reintroduced Przewalski's horses to utilize the scarce, grass-dominated pastures of the Gobi alongside local people and their livestock whereas their historic conspecifics were forced into less productive habitats dominated by browse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Kaczensky
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, 1160, Vienna, Austria.
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research - NINA, P.O. Box 5685 Sluppen, NO-7485, Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Martina Burnik Šturm
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, 1160, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Mikhail V Sablin
- Zoological Institute RAS, Universitetskaya nab. 1, 199034, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Christian C Voigt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Steve Smith
- Konrad-Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Vienna, 1160, Austria
| | - Oyunsaikhan Ganbaatar
- Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area Administration, Takhin Tal, Gobi Altai Province, Mongolia
- Department of Zoology, School of Biology and Biotechnology, National University of Mongolia, 14200, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Boglarka Balint
- Konrad-Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Vienna, 1160, Austria
| | - Chris Walzer
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, 1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - Natalia N Spasskaya
- Zoological Museum of Moscow Lomonosow State University, Bolshaya Nikitskaya Str. 6, 125009, Moscow, Russia
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11
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Roberts P, Blumenthal SA, Dittus W, Wedage O, Lee-Thorp JA. Stable carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, isotope analysis of plants from a South Asian tropical forest: Implications for primatology. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History; Jena Germany
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; School of Archaeology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
| | - Scott A. Blumenthal
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; School of Archaeology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
| | - Wolfgang Dittus
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Conservation Ecology Center; Front Royal Washington D.C
- National Institute of Fundamental Studies; Kandy Sri Lanka
| | - Oshan Wedage
- Department of History and Archaeology; University of Sri Jayewardenepura; Gangodawila Nugegoda Sri Lanka
| | - Julia A. Lee-Thorp
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; School of Archaeology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
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12
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Martínez LM, Estebaranz-Sánchez F, Galbany J, Pérez-Pérez A. Testing Dietary Hypotheses of East African Hominines Using Buccal Dental Microwear Data. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165447. [PMID: 27851745 PMCID: PMC5112956 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
There is much debate on the dietary adaptations of the robust hominin lineages during the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition. It has been argued that the shift from C3 to C4 ecosystems in Africa was the main factor responsible for the robust dental and facial anatomical adaptations of Paranthropus taxa, which might be indicative of the consumption of fibrous, abrasive plant foods in open environments. However, occlusal dental microwear data fail to provide evidence of such dietary adaptations and are not consistent with isotopic evidence that supports greater C4 food intake for the robust clades than for the gracile australopithecines. We provide evidence from buccal dental microwear data that supports softer dietary habits than expected for P. aethiopicus and P. boisei based both on masticatory apomorphies and isotopic analyses. On one hand, striation densities on the buccal enamel surfaces of paranthropines teeth are low, resembling those of H. habilis and clearly differing from those observed on H. ergaster, which display higher scratch densities indicative of the consumption of a wide assortment of highly abrasive foodstuffs. Buccal dental microwear patterns are consistent with those previously described for occlusal enamel surfaces, suggesting that Paranthropus consumed much softer diets than previously presumed and thus calling into question a strict interpretation of isotopic evidence. On the other hand, the significantly high buccal scratch densities observed in the H. ergaster specimens are not consistent with a highly specialized, mostly carnivorous diet; instead, they support the consumption of a wide range of highly abrasive food items.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mónica Martínez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ferran Estebaranz-Sánchez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Galbany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Alejandro Pérez-Pérez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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13
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Phillips CA, O'Connell TC. Fecal carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis as an indicator of diet in Kanyawara chimpanzees, Kibale National Park, Uganda. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 161:685-697. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Revised: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline A. Phillips
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the WitwatersrandWits2050 South Africa
- Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyMcDonald Institute of Archaeological Research, University of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridge CB2 3ER England
| | - Tamsin C. O'Connell
- Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyMcDonald Institute of Archaeological Research, University of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridge CB2 3ER England
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14
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Blumenthal SA, Rothman JM, Chritz KL, Cerling TE. Stable isotopic variation in tropical forest plants for applications in primatology. Am J Primatol 2015; 78:1041-54. [PMID: 26444915 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 09/23/2015] [Accepted: 09/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Stable isotope analysis is a promising tool for investigating primate ecology although nuanced ecological applications remain challenging, in part due to the complex nature of isotopic variability in plant-animal systems. The aim of this study is to investigate sources of carbon and nitrogen isotopic variation at the base of primate food webs that reflect aspects of primate ecology. The majority of primates inhabit tropical forest ecosystems, which are dominated by C3 vegetation. We used stable isotope ratios in plants from Kibale National Park, Uganda, a well-studied closed-canopy tropical forest, to investigate sources of isotopic variation among C3 plants related to canopy stratification, leaf age, and plant part. Unpredictably, our results demonstrate that vertical stratification within the canopy does not explain carbon or nitrogen isotopic variation in leaves. Leaf age can be a significant source of isotopic variation, although the direction and magnitude of this difference is not consistent across tree species. Some plant parts are clearly differentiated in carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition, particularly leaves compared to non-photosynthetic parts such as reproductive parts and woody stem parts. Overall, variation in the isotopic composition of floral communities, plant species, and plant parts demonstrates that stable isotope studies must include analysis of local plant species and parts consumed by the primates under study from within the study area. Am. J. Primatol. 78:1041-1054, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Blumenthal
- Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York. .,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York. .,Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
| | - Jessica M Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York.,Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, New York
| | - Kendra L Chritz
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Thure E Cerling
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.,Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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15
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Carter ML, Bradbury MW. Oxygen isotope ratios in primate bone carbonate reflect amount of leaves and vertical stratification in the diet. Am J Primatol 2015; 78:1086-97. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Revised: 04/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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16
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Pestle WJ, Crowley BE, Weirauch MT. Quantifying inter-laboratory variability in stable isotope analysis of ancient skeletal remains. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102844. [PMID: 25061843 PMCID: PMC4111498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Accepted: 06/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past forty years, stable isotope analysis of bone (and tooth) collagen and hydroxyapatite has become a mainstay of archaeological and paleoanthropological reconstructions of paleodiet and paleoenvironment. Despite this method's frequent use across anthropological subdisciplines (and beyond), the present work represents the first attempt at gauging the effects of inter-laboratory variability engendered by differences in a) sample preparation, and b) analysis (instrumentation, working standards, and data calibration). Replicate analyses of a 14C-dated ancient human bone by twenty-one archaeological and paleoecological stable isotope laboratories revealed significant inter-laboratory isotopic variation for both collagen and carbonate. For bone collagen, we found a sizeable range of 1.8‰ for δ13Ccol and 1.9‰ for δ15Ncol among laboratories, but an interpretatively insignificant average pairwise difference of 0.2‰ and 0.4‰ for δ13Ccol and δ15Ncol respectively. For bone hydroxyapatite the observed range increased to a troublingly large 3.5‰ for δ13Cap and 6.7‰ for δ18Oap, with average pairwise differences of 0.6‰ for δ13Cap and a disquieting 2.0‰ for δ18Oap. In order to assess the effects of preparation versus analysis on isotopic variability among laboratories, a subset of the samples prepared by the participating laboratories were analyzed a second time on the same instrument. Based on this duplicate analysis, it was determined that roughly half of the isotopic variability among laboratories could be attributed to differences in sample preparation, with the other half resulting from differences in analysis (instrumentation, working standards, and data calibration). These findings have serious implications for choices made in the preparation and extraction of target biomolecules, the comparison of results obtained from different laboratories, and the interpretation of small differences in bone collagen and hydroxyapatite isotope values. To address the issues arising from inter-laboratory comparisons, we devise a novel measure we term the Minimum Meaningful Difference (MMD), and demonstrate its application.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J. Pestle
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
| | - Brooke E. Crowley
- Departments of Geology and Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Matthew T. Weirauch
- Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology, and Divisions of Biomedical Informatics and Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
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Loudon JE, Grobler JP, Sponheimer M, Moyer K, Lorenz JG, Turner TR. Using the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) to examine questions in ethnoprimatology. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100758. [PMID: 25010211 PMCID: PMC4091945 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2014] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This study seeks to understand how humans impact the dietary patterns of eight free-ranging vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) groups in South Africa using stable isotope analysis. Vervets are omnivores that exploit a wide range of habitats including those that have been anthropogenically-disturbed. As humans encroach upon nonhuman primate landscapes, human-nonhuman primate interconnections become increasingly common, which has led to the rise of the field of ethnoprimatology. To date, many ethnoprimatological studies have examined human-nonhuman primate associations largely in qualitative terms. By using stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis, we use quantitative data to understand the degree to which humans impact vervet monkey dietary patterns. Based on initial behavioral observations we placed the eight groups into three categories of anthropogenic disturbance (low, mid, and high). Using δ13C and δ15N values we estimated the degree to which each group and each anthropogenically-disturbed category was consuming C4 plants (primarily sugar cane, corn, or processed foods incorporating these crops). δ13C values were significantly different between groups and categories of anthropogenic-disturbance. δ15N values were significantly different at the group level. The two vervet groups with the highest consumption of C4 plants inhabited small nature reserves, appeared to interact with humans only sporadically, and were initially placed in the mid level of anthropogenic-disturbance. However, further behavioral observations revealed that the high δ13C values exhibited by these groups were linked to previously unseen raiding of C4 crops. By revealing these cryptic feeding patterns, this study illustrates the utility of stable isotopes analysis for some ethnoprimatological questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- James E. Loudon
- Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - J. Paul Grobler
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Matt Sponheimer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Moyer
- University of Colorado, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Joseph G. Lorenz
- Department of Anthropology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Trudy R. Turner
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconisn, United States of America
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Bocherens H, Grandal-d'Anglade A, Hobson KA. Pitfalls in comparing modern hair and fossil bone collagen C and N isotopic data to reconstruct ancient diets: a case study with cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). ISOTOPES IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH STUDIES 2014; 50:291-299. [PMID: 24588112 DOI: 10.1080/10256016.2014.890193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Stable isotope analyses provide one of the few means to evaluate diet of extinct taxa. However, interpreting isotope data from bone collagen of extinct animals based on isotopic patterns in different tissues of modern animal proxies is precarious. For example, three corrections are needed before making comparisons of recent hair and ancient bone collagen: calibration of carbon-13 variations in atmospheric CO2, different isotopic discrimination between diet-hair keratin and diet-bone collagen, and time averaging of bone collagen versus short-term record in hair keratin. Recently, Robu et al. [Isotopic evidence for dietary flexibility among European Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). Can J Zool. 2013;91:227-234] published an article comparing extant carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen (δ(15)N) stable isotopic data of European cave bear bone collagen with those of Yellowstone Park grizzly bear hair in order to test the prevailing assumption of a largely vegetarian diet among cave bears. The authors concluded that cave bears were carnivores. This work is unfortunately unfounded as the authors failed to consider the necessary corrections listed above. When these corrections are applied to the Romanian cave bears, these individuals can be then interpreted without involving consumption of high trophic-level food, and environmental changes are probably the reason for the unusual isotopic composition of these cave bears in comparison with other European cave bears, rather than a change of diet. We caution researchers to pay careful attention to these factors when interpreting feeding ecology of extinct fauna using stable isotope techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hervé Bocherens
- a Department of Geosciences, Biogeology , University Tübingen , Tübingen , Germany
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Diet of Australopithecus afarensis from the Pliocene Hadar Formation, Ethiopia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:10495-500. [PMID: 23733965 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222559110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The enhanced dietary flexibility of early hominins to include consumption of C4/crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) foods (i.e., foods derived from grasses, sedges, and succulents common in tropical savannas and deserts) likely represents a significant ecological and behavioral distinction from both extant great apes and the last common ancestor that we shared with great apes. Here, we use stable carbon isotopic data from 20 samples of Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar and Dikika, Ethiopia (>3.4-2.9 Ma) to show that this species consumed a diet with significant C4/CAM foods, differing from its putative ancestor Au. anamensis. Furthermore, there is no temporal trend in the amount of C4/CAM food consumption over the age of the samples analyzed, and the amount of C4/CAM food intake was highly variable, even within a single narrow stratigraphic interval. As such, Au. afarensis was a key participant in the C4/CAM dietary expansion by early australopiths of the middle Pliocene. The middle Pliocene expansion of the eastern African australopith diet to include savanna-based foods represents a shift to use of plant food resources that were already abundant in hominin environments for at least 1 million y and sets the stage for dietary differentiation and niche specialization by subsequent hominin taxa.
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Nakashita R, Hamada Y, Hirasaki E, Suzuki J, Oi T. Characteristics of stable isotope signature of diet in tissues of captive Japanese macaques as revealed by controlled feeding. Primates 2013; 54:271-81. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-013-0346-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2012] [Accepted: 02/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Detecting intraannual dietary variability in wild mountain gorillas by stable isotope analysis of feces. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:21277-82. [PMID: 23236160 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215782109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We use stable isotope ratios in feces of wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) to test the hypothesis that diet shifts within a single year, as measured by dry mass intake, can be recovered. Isotopic separation of staple foods indicates that intraannual changes in the isotopic composition of feces reflect shifts in diet. Fruits are isotopically distinct compared with other staple foods, and peaks in fecal δ(13)C values are interpreted as periods of increased fruit feeding. Bayesian mixing model results demonstrate that, although the timing of these diet shifts match observational data, the modeled increase in proportional fruit feeding does not capture the full shift. Variation in the isotopic and nutritional composition of gorilla foods is largely independent, highlighting the difficulty for estimating nutritional intake with stable isotopes. Our results demonstrate the potential value of fecal sampling for quantifying short-term, intraindividual dietary variability in primates and other animals with high temporal resolution even when the diet is composed of C(3) plants.
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Louys J, Ditchfield P, Meloro C, Elton S, Bishop LC. Stable isotopes provide independent support for the use of mesowear variables for inferring diets in African antelopes. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:4441-6. [PMID: 22933376 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We examine the relationship between mesowear variables and carbon and nitrogen isotopes in 16 species of African antelope (Mammalia: Bovidae). We show significant differences in carbon and nitrogen isotope values between individuals exhibiting sharp versus round cusps, and high versus low occlusal relief. We show significant correlations between mesowear variables and both carbon and nitrogen isotopes. We find significant correlations between mesowear score and nitrogen, but not carbon isotopes. Finally, we find no significant correlations between hypsodonty index and either isotope examined. Our results provide strong support for the use of mesowear variables in palaeodietary reconstructions of antelopes. Our results further suggest that for the antelopes examined here, mesowear signals are a direct result of diet, while hyposodonty may be the result of phylogenetic legacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Louys
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, UK.
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Rabenold D, Pearson OM. Abrasive, silica phytoliths and the evolution of thick molar enamel in primates, with implications for the diet of Paranthropus boisei. PLoS One 2011; 6:e28379. [PMID: 22163299 PMCID: PMC3233556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2011] [Accepted: 11/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primates--including fossil species of apes and hominins--show variation in their degree of molar enamel thickness, a trait long thought to reflect a diet of hard or tough foods. The early hominins demonstrated molar enamel thickness of moderate to extreme degrees, which suggested to most researchers that they ate hard foods obtained on or near the ground, such as nuts, seeds, tubers, and roots. We propose an alternative hypothesis--that the amount of phytoliths in foods correlates with the evolution of thick molar enamel in primates, although this effect is constrained by a species' degree of folivory. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS From a combination of dietary data and evidence for the levels of phytoliths in plant families in the literature, we calculated the percentage of plant foods rich in phytoliths in the diets of twelve extant primates with wide variation in their molar enamel thickness. Additional dietary data from the literature provided the percentage of each primate's diet made up of plants and of leaves. A statistical analysis of these variables showed that the amount of abrasive silica phytoliths in the diets of our sample primates correlated positively with the thickness of their molar enamel, constrained by the amount of leaves in their diet (R(2) = 0.875; p<.0006). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The need to resist abrasion from phytoliths appears to be a key selective force behind the evolution of thick molar enamel in primates. The extreme molar enamel thickness of the teeth of the East African hominin Paranthropus boisei, long thought to suggest a diet comprising predominantly hard objects, instead appears to indicate a diet with plants high in abrasive silica phytoliths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Rabenold
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America.
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Codron D, Sponheimer M, Codron J, Hammer S, Tschuor A, Braun U, Bernasconi SM, Clauss M. Tracking the fate of digesta 13C and 15N compositions along the ruminant gastrointestinal tract: Does digestion influence the relationship between diet and faeces? EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-011-0581-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Schurr MR, Fuentes A, Luecke E, Cortes J, Shaw E. Intergroup variation in stable isotope ratios reflects anthropogenic impact on the Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) of Gibraltar. Primates 2011; 53:31-40. [PMID: 21881959 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-011-0268-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2011] [Accepted: 07/11/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Interactions with humans impact many aspects of behavior and ecology in nonhuman primates. Because of the complexities of the human-nonhuman primate interface, methods are needed to quantify the effects of anthropogenic interactions, including their intensity and differential impacts between nonhuman primate groups. Stable isotopes can be used to quickly and economically assess intergroup dietary variation, and provide a framework for the development of specific hypotheses about anthropogenic impact. This study uses stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to examine intraspecific variation in diet between five groups of Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus, in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar. Analysis of hair from 135 macaques showed significant differences in δ(13)C and δ(15)N values between a group with minimal tourist contact and groups that were main tourist attractions. Because we observed no overt physiological or substantial behavioral differences between the groups, feeding ecology is the most likely cause of any differences in stable isotope ratios. Haphazard provisioning by tourists and Gibraltarians is a likely source of dietary variation between groups. Stable isotope analysis and observational data facilitate a deeper understanding of the feeding ecology of the Barbary macaques relevant to the role of an anthropogenic ecology for the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R Schurr
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
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Sudano M, Gregorio F. Ancestral diets and modern diseases. MEDITERRANEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION AND METABOLISM 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s12349-011-0067-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Oelze VM, Fuller BT, Richards MP, Fruth B, Surbeck M, Hublin JJ, Hohmann G. Exploring the contribution and significance of animal protein in the diet of bonobos by stable isotope ratio analysis of hair. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:9792-7. [PMID: 21628564 PMCID: PMC3116404 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1018502108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In primates, age, sex, and social status can strongly influence access to food resources. In Pan, these criteria are assumed to influence access to vertebrate meat. However, the significance of meat in terms of its role in the nutrition of Pan is still debated. Here we present a study using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in hair samples from habituated, wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) to explore these issues. Over a period of 5 mo hair samples were collected from fresh bonobo nests at LuiKotale, Democratic Republic of Congo. Hair samples were assigned to known individuals and were of sufficient length to allow the evaluation of isotopic variation over several months. Samples of plant foods and sympatric fauna were also analyzed. The δ(13)C and δ(15)N results of the bonobo hair were remarkably homogeneous over time and for the group as a whole. There are no differences in diet between the sexes. Within the group of males, however, there was a positive correlation between dominance status and δ(15)N. The isotopic data indicate that the contribution of fauna to bonobo diet is marginal and that plant food is the dietary protein source. In only some cases did elevated δ(15)N hair values correlate with observed faunivory and not correspond to the δ(15)N measured in the dominant plant foods. Given the large variation in hunting and meat eating of Pan across the African continent, the detection of seasonal changes in faunivory by elevated δ(15)N values in sectioned ape hair is a promising approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicky M Oelze
- Department of Human Evolution and Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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Lee-Thorp JA, Sponheimer M, Passey BH, de Ruiter DJ, Cerling TE. Stable isotopes in fossil hominin tooth enamel suggest a fundamental dietary shift in the Pliocene. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365:3389-96. [PMID: 20855312 PMCID: PMC2981957 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating isotopic evidence from fossil hominin tooth enamel has provided unexpected insights into early hominin dietary ecology. Among the South African australopiths, these data demonstrate significant contributions to the diet of carbon originally fixed by C(4) photosynthesis, consisting of C(4) tropical/savannah grasses and certain sedges, and/or animals eating C(4) foods. Moreover, high-resolution analysis of tooth enamel reveals strong intra-tooth variability in many cases, suggesting seasonal-scale dietary shifts. This pattern is quite unlike that seen in any great apes, even 'savannah' chimpanzees. The overall proportions of C(4) input persisted for well over a million years, even while environments shifted from relatively closed (ca 3 Ma) to open conditions after ca 1.8 Ma. Data from East Africa suggest a more extreme scenario, where results for Paranthropus boisei indicate a diet dominated (approx. 80%) by C(4) plants, in spite of indications from their powerful 'nutcracker' morphology for diets of hard objects. We argue that such evidence for engagement with C(4) food resources may mark a fundamental transition in the evolution of hominin lineages, and that the pattern had antecedents prior to the emergence of Australopithecus africanus. Since new isotopic evidence from Aramis suggests that it was not present in Ardipithecus ramidus at 4.4 Ma, we suggest that the origins lie in the period between 3 and 4 Myr ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Lee-Thorp
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
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Petzke KJ, Fuller BT, Metges CC. Advances in natural stable isotope ratio analysis of human hair to determine nutritional and metabolic status. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2010; 13:532-40. [PMID: 20625284 DOI: 10.1097/mco.0b013e32833c3c84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We review the literature on the use of stable isotope ratios at natural abundance to reveal information about dietary habits and specific nutrient intakes in human hair protein (keratin) and amino acids. In particular, we examine whether hair isotopic compositions can be used as unbiased biomarkers to provide information about nutritional status, metabolism, and diseases. RECENT FINDINGS Although the majority of research on the stable isotope ratio analysis of hair has focused on bulk protein, methods have been recently employed to examine amino acid-specific isotope ratios using gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The isotopic measurement of amino acids has the potential to answer research questions on amino acid nutrition, metabolism, and disease processes and can contribute to a better understanding of the variations in bulk protein isotope ratio values. First results suggest that stable isotope ratios are promising as unbiased nutritional biomarkers in epidemiological research. However, variations in stable isotope ratios of human hair are also influenced by nutrition-dependent nitrogen balance, and more controlled clinical research is needed to examine these effects in human hair. SUMMARY Stable isotope ratio analysis at natural abundance in human hair protein offers a noninvasive method to reveal information about long-term nutritional exposure to specific nutrients, nutritional habits, and in the diagnostics of diseases leading to nutritional stress and impaired nitrogen balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus J Petzke
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Nuthetal, Germany.
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Lambert JE. Summary to the symposium issue: Primate fallback strategies as adaptive phenotypic plasticity--scale, pattern, and process. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 140:759-66. [PMID: 19890857 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In this discussion, I evaluate our understanding of fallback foods in primate and hominin ecology and evolution with reference to the challenges of nomenclature, scale, and of linking individual responses to food availability and properties (process) to species traits (pattern). I use these challenges to form the framework of my discussion and ultimately conclude that we situate the discussion of primate fallback strategy into a broader, "synthetic" framework of animal form and the evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna E Lambert
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
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