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Alp M, Cucherousset J. Food webs speak of human impact: Using stable isotope-based tools to measure ecological consequences of environmental change. FOOD WEBS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2021.e00218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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2
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Fishing intensification as response to Late Holocene socio-ecological instability in southeastern South America. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23506. [PMID: 34873216 PMCID: PMC8648744 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02888-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of plant-based economies have dominated evolutionary models of Middle and Late Holocene pre-Columbian societies in South America. Comparatively, the use of aquatic resources and the circumstances for intensifying their exploitation have received little attention. Here we reviewed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of 390 human individuals from Middle and Late Holocene coastal sambaquis, a long-lasting shell mound culture that flourished for nearly 7000 years along the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil. Using a newly generated faunal isotopic baseline and Bayesian Isotope Mixing Models we quantified the relative contribution of marine resources to the diet of some of these groups. Through the analysis of more than 400 radiocarbon dates we show that fishing sustained large and resilient populations during most of the Late Holocene. A sharp decline was observed in the frequency of sambaqui sites and radiocarbon dates from ca. 2200 years ago, possibly reflecting the dissolution of several nucleated groups into smaller social units, coinciding with substantial changes in coastal environments. The spread of ceramics from ca. 1200 years ago is marked by innovation and intensification of fishing practices, in a context of increasing social and ecological instability in the Late Holocene.
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Stephenson F, Hewitt JE, Torres LG, Mouton TL, Brough T, Goetz KT, Lundquist CJ, MacDiarmid AB, Ellis J, Constantine R. Cetacean conservation planning in a global diversity hotspot: dealing with uncertainty and data deficiencies. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Judi E. Hewitt
- National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) Hamilton New Zealand
- Department of Statistics University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Leigh G. Torres
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Marine Mammal Institute Oregon State University Newport Oregon USA
| | - Théophile L. Mouton
- Marine Biodiversity Exploitation, and Conservation (MARBEC) UMR IRD‐CNRS‐UM‐IFREMER 9190 Université de Montpellier Montpellier34095France
| | - Tom Brough
- National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) Hamilton New Zealand
| | - Kimberly T. Goetz
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center Seattle Alaska USA
- National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) Wellington New Zealand
| | - Carolyn J. Lundquist
- National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) Hamilton New Zealand
- Institute of Marine Science University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | | | - Joanne Ellis
- School of Science University of Waikato Tauranga New Zealand
| | - Rochelle Constantine
- Institute of Marine Science University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
- School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
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Petherick AS, Reuther JD, Shirar SJ, Anderson SL, DeSantis LRG. Dietary ecology of Alaskan polar bears (Ursus maritimus) through time and in response to Arctic climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:3109-3119. [PMID: 33793039 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Arctic climate change poses serious threats to polar bears (Ursus maritimus) as reduced sea ice makes seal prey inaccessible and marine ecosystems undergo bottom-up reorganization. Polar bears' elongated skulls and reduced molar dentition, as compared to their sister species the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), are adaptations associated with hunting seals on sea ice and a soft, lipid-rich diet of blubber and meat. With significant declines in sea ice, it is unclear if and how polar bears may be altering their diets. Clarifying polar bear dietary responses to changing climates, both today and in the past, is critical to proper conservation and management of this apex predator. This is particularly important when a dietary strategy may be maladaptive. Here, we test the hypothesis that hard-food consumption (i.e., less preferred foods including bone), inferred from dental microwear texture analysis, increased with Arctic warming. We find that polar bears demonstrate a conserved absence of hard-object feeding in Alaska through time (including approximately 1000 years ago), until the 21st century, consistent with a highly conserved and specialized diet of soft blubber and flesh. Notably, our results also suggest that some 21st-century polar bears may be consuming harder foods (e.g., increased carcass utilization, terrestrial foods including garbage), despite having skulls and metabolisms poorly suited for such a diet. Prior to the 21st century, only polar bears with larger mandibles demonstrated increased hard-object feeding, though to a much lower degree than closely related grizzly bears which regularly consume mechanically challenging foods. Polar bears, being morphologically specialized, have biomechanical constraints which may limit their ability to consume mechanically challenging diets, with dietary shifts occurring only under the most extreme scenarios. Collectively, the highly specialized diets and cranial morphology of polar bears may severely limit their ability to adapt to a warming Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ansley S Petherick
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Joshua D Reuther
- Archaeology Department, University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Scott J Shirar
- Archaeology Department, University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Shelby L Anderson
- Department of Anthropology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Larisa R G DeSantis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Zinc isotopes from archaeological bones provide reliable tropic level information for marine mammals. Commun Biol 2021; 4:683. [PMID: 34083709 PMCID: PMC8175341 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02212-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In marine ecology, dietary interpretations of faunal assemblages often rely on nitrogen isotopes as the main or only applicable trophic level tracer. We investigate the geographic variability and trophic level isotopic discrimination factors of bone zinc 66Zn/64Zn ratios (δ66Zn value) and compared it to collagen nitrogen and carbon stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) values. Focusing on ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from multiple Arctic archaeological sites, we investigate trophic interactions between predator and prey over a broad geographic area. All proxies show variability among sites, influenced by the regional food web baselines. However, δ66Zn shows a significantly higher homogeneity among different sites. We observe a clear trophic spacing for δ15N and δ66Zn values in all locations, yet δ66Zn analysis allows a more direct dietary comparability between spatially and temporally distinct locations than what is possible by δ15N and δ13C analysis alone. When combining all three proxies, a more detailed and refined dietary analysis is possible.
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Guiry EJ, Hunt BPV. Integrating fish scale and bone isotopic compositions for 'deep time' retrospective studies. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 160:104982. [PMID: 32907720 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Isotopic studies of archived fish scales have tremendous potential to develop long-term retrospectives that provide important insights into how humans have altered aquatic ecosystems. However, fish specimens in museum archives and other repositories typically date to time periods when the impacts of industrial societies may have already caused profound environmental changes. Archaeological fish bones offer an opportunity to bridge this key temporal gap by providing samples spanning from the recent past to as far back as the Pleistocene. Collagen is the primary protein component of both fish scale and bone, but the comparability of isotopic compositions from these tissues has not been established experimentally. To lay the framework for integrating isotopic datasets from these tissues, we compare δ13C and δ15N of bone and scale collagen, as well as other tissues, from fish with life-time controlled diets. Results show that while there is no difference in δ13C between scale and bone collagen, there may be a very slight but meaningful inter-tissue offset in δ15N (<0.3‰). We discuss potential sources of δ15N variation in scale and bone collagen measurements. Because there is no difference in scale and bone δ13C, and the observed offset in δ15N is very small (less than analytical uncertainty in many studies), our findings demonstrate that collagen isotopic compositions from these tissues should be directly comparable when integrating datasets from modern and ancient samples to build more powerful, millennium-scale isotopic times series. In linking isotopic compositions of collagen from modern, historical (scales), and archaeological (bones) fish, our findings open the way for more nuanced contextualization of how ecosystems functioned prior to large-scale exploitation and how they have responded to mounting anthropogenic pressures in the intervening centuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric J Guiry
- Department of Anthropology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada; School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE17RH, UK; Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 6306 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada.
| | - Brian P V Hunt
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2020 - 2207 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Hakai Institute, PO Box 309, Heriot Bay, BC, V0P 1H0, Canada
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Guiry EJ, Szpak P. Quality control for modern bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements. Methods Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eric J. Guiry
- Department of Anthropology Trent University Peterborough ON Canada
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester Leicester UK
| | - Paul Szpak
- Department of Anthropology Trent University Peterborough ON Canada
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Bas M, Salemme M, Green EJ, Santiago F, Speller C, Álvarez M, Briz I Godino I, Cardona L. Predicting habitat use by the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi in a warmer world: inferences from the Middle Holocene. Oecologia 2020; 193:461-474. [PMID: 32424465 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04667-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Fish skeletal remains recovered from two archaeological sites dated in the Middle Holocene of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) were analysed to describe habitat use patterns by hake in the past and predict changes in a warmer world. Mitochondrial DNA was successfully extracted and amplified from 42 out of 45 first vertebra from ancient hake and phylogenetic analysis assigned all haplotypes to Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi). According to osteometry, the Argentine hake recovered from the archaeological site were likely adults ranging 37.2-58.1 cm in standard length. C and N stable isotope analysis showed that currently Argentine hake use foraging grounds deeper than those of Patagonian blenny and pink cusk-eel. Argentine hake, however, had a much broader isotopic niche during the Middle Holocene, when a large part of the population foraged much shallower than contemporary pink cusk-eel. The overall evidence suggests the presence of large numbers of Argentine hake onshore Tierra del Fuego during the Middle Holocene, which allowed exploitation by hunter-gatherer-fisher groups devoid of fishing technology. Interestingly, average SST off Tierra del Fuego during the Middle Holocene was higher than currently (11 °C vs 7 °C) and matched SST in the current southernmost onshore spawning aggregations, at latitude 47 °S. This indicates that increasing SST resulting from global warming will likely result into an increased abundance of adult Argentine hake onshore Tierra del Fuego, as during the Middle Holocene. Furthermore, stable isotope ratios from mollusc shells confirmed a much higher marine primary productivity during the Middle Holocene off Tierra del Fuego.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bas
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina. .,Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Mónica Salemme
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina.,ICSE, Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Argentina
| | | | - Fernando Santiago
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
| | - Camilla Speller
- Department of Archaeology, BioArCh, University of York, York, UK.,Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Myrian Álvarez
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
| | - Ivan Briz I Godino
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina.,Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK.,P. Rockefeller Visiting Scholar, DRCLAS at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Luis Cardona
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Guiry E, Royle TCA, Matson RG, Ward H, Weir T, Waber N, Brown TJ, Hunt BPV, Price MHH, Finney BP, Kaeriyama M, Qin Y, Yang DY, Szpak P. Differentiating salmonid migratory ecotypes through stable isotope analysis of collagen: Archaeological and ecological applications. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0232180. [PMID: 32343728 PMCID: PMC7188214 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to distinguish between different migratory behaviours (e.g., anadromy and potamodromy) in fish can provide important insights into the ecology, evolution, and conservation of many aquatic species. We present a simple stable carbon isotope (δ13C) approach for distinguishing between sockeye (anadromous ocean migrants) and kokanee (potamodromous freshwater residents), two migratory ecotypes of Oncorhynchus nerka (Salmonidae) that is applicable throughout most of their range across coastal regions of the North Pacific Ocean. Analyses of kokanee (n = 239) and sockeye (n = 417) from 87 sites spanning the North Pacific (Russia to California) show that anadromous and potamodromous ecotypes are broadly distinguishable on the basis of the δ13C values of their scale and bone collagen. We present three case studies demonstrating how this approach can address questions in archaeology, archival, and conservation research. Relative to conventional methods for determining migratory status, which typically apply chemical analyses to otoliths or involve genetic analyses of tissues, the δ13C approach outlined here has the benefit of being non-lethal (when applied to scales), cost-effective, widely available commercially, and should be much more broadly accessible for addressing archaeological questions since the recovery of otoliths at archaeological sites is rare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Guiry
- Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
- Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Thomas C. A. Royle
- Department of Archaeology, Ancient DNA Laboratory, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - R. G. Matson
- Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Hillary Ward
- Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Government of British Columbia, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Tyler Weir
- Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Government of British Columbia, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nicholas Waber
- Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Thomas J. Brown
- Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Brian P. V. Hunt
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Hakai Institute, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Michael H. H. Price
- Department of Biological Sciences, Earth to Ocean Research Group, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Bruce P. Finney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, United States of America
- Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, United States of America
| | | | - Yuxue Qin
- School of Marine Science and Environmental Engineering, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, Liaoning, China
| | - Dongya Y. Yang
- Department of Archaeology, Ancient DNA Laboratory, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Paul Szpak
- Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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Guiry E. Complexities of Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Biogeochemistry in Ancient Freshwater Ecosystems: Implications for the Study of Past Subsistence and Environmental Change. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
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Bas M, Briz I Godino I, Álvarez M, Vales DG, Crespo EA, Cardona L. Back to the future? Late Holocene marine food web structure in a warm climatic phase as a predictor of trophodynamics in a warmer South-Western Atlantic Ocean. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:404-419. [PMID: 30430698 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in the skeletal elements of both ancient and modern marine species from the Beagle Channel were used to compare the structure of Late Holocene and modern food webs, and predict potential changes as a result of a Sea Surface Temperature (SST) increase in the region. Complementary, ancient and modern shells of limpets and mussels were isotopically analysed to explore changes in the isotopic baseline and compare marine food webs through time after an appropriate correction for baseline shifts. Results confirmed a declining pattern of marine primary productivity during the Late Holocene in the Beagle Channel. In general, the isotopic niches overlapped largely in the ancient food web in comparison to the current marine one, with the exception of that of cormorants (Phalacrocorax sp.). Our data suggest that all the species that have undergone intense human exploitation (Arctocephalus australis, Otaria flavescens and Merluccius sp.) significantly increased their trophic levels. The most important finding of this work was the very high isotopic overlap between snoek (Thyrsites atun) and hake (Merluccius sp.) during the Late Holocene. Increasing SST as a result of global warming could favour the recolonization of the southern South-Western Atlantic Ocean by snoek from the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean, with a potential impact on the landings of the economically important Argentine and Austral hake. These findings highlight the relevance of using zooarchaeological remains for providing predictions about marine food webs changes in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bas
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
- Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ivan Briz I Godino
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Myrian Álvarez
- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
| | - Damián G Vales
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR - CCT CONICET - CENPAT), Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Enrique A Crespo
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR - CCT CONICET - CENPAT), Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Luis Cardona
- Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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