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Fillion EN, Harrison T. Hominin turnover at Laetoli is associated with vegetation change: Multiproxy evidence from the large herbivore community. J Hum Evol 2024; 191:103546. [PMID: 38795630 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
Vegetation change in eastern Africa during the Pliocene would have had an important impact on hominin adaptation and ecology, and it may have been a key driver of hominin macroevolution, including the extinction of Australopithecus and the emergence of Paranthropus and Homo. The Pliocene paleoanthropological site of Laetoli in Tanzania provides an opportunity to investigate the relationship between vegetation change and hominin turnover because it encompasses the time period when grass cover was spreading across eastern Africa and because hominin species turnover occurred locally at Laetoli, with Paranthropus aethiopicus in the Upper Ndolanya Beds (UNB) replacing Australopithecus afarensis in the Upper Laetolil Beds (ULB). However, it remains unresolved how the vegetation of the UNB and the ULB differed from each other. To examine differences between the two stratigraphic units, multiple proxies-hypsodonty, mesowear, and stable carbon isotopes of tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel)-are used to infer the diets of large herbivores and compare the dietary guild structure of the large herbivore communities. All three proxies indicate an increase in the abrasiveness and C4-content in the diets of the large herbivores in the UNB relative to those in the ULB. After inferring the diets of species based on all three proxies, the large herbivore community of the UNB had a greater proportion of grazers and a smaller proportion of mixed feeders than in the ULB but maintained a similar proportion of browsers and frugivores. The ULB community has few modern-day analogs, whereas the UNB community is most closely analogous to those in modern African grasslands. Thus, hominin turnover at Laetoli is associated with an increase in grass cover within a woodland-grassland mosaic and is part of a broader transformation of the herbivore community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth N Fillion
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Pl., New York, NY, 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10024, USA
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Hullot M, Martin C, Blondel C, Rössner GE. Life in a Central European warm-temperate to subtropical open forest: Paleoecology of the rhinocerotids from Ulm-Westtangente (Aquitanian, Early Miocene, Germany). THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2024; 111:10. [PMID: 38353735 PMCID: PMC11401789 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-024-01893-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The Ulm-Westtangente locality has yielded the most abundant vertebrate fauna from the Aquitanian stage in Germany. Its dating to the Mammal Neogene Zone 2a, a turnover in Cenozoic climate, makes it a crucial source for the understanding of faunal, paleoecological and paleoenvironmental specifics of the European Aquitanian. However, while most taxa from Ulm-Westtangente have been studied, little to no research has been conducted on the large herbivores, particularly on the two rhinocerotids Mesaceratherium paulhiacense and Protaceratherium minutum. Here, we used a multi-proxy approach to investigate the paleoecology of these two species. The remains of the smaller species P. minutum (438 to 685 kg) are twice as abundant as those of the larger M. paulhiacense (1389 to 2327 kg), but both display a similar age structure (~ 10% of juveniles, 20% of subadults and 70% of adults), mortality curves, and mild prevalence of hypoplasia (~ 17%). Results from dental mesowear, microwear, and carbon isotopes indicate different feeding preferences: both were C3 feeders but M. paulhiacense had a more abrasive diet and was probably a mixed feeder. Our study on rhinocerotids also yielded new paleoenvironmental insights, such as the mean annual temperature (15.8 °C) and precipitation (317 mm/year) suggesting rather warm and dry conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Hullot
- SNSB - Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333, Munich, Germany.
| | - Céline Martin
- Géosciences Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Campus Triolet cc060, Bât 22 - Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Cécile Blondel
- PALEVOPRIM Poitiers, Université de Poitiers Bât B35 - TSA 51106, 6 Rue Michel Brunet, 86073, Poitiers, France
| | - Gertrud E Rössner
- SNSB - Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333, Munich, Germany
- Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Paläontologie & Geobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333, Munich, Germany
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Isarankura Na Ayudhya J, Merceron G, Wannaprasert T, Jaeger JJ, Chaimanee Y, Shoocongdej R, Suraprasit K. Dental mesowear and microwear for the dietary reconstruction of Quaternary Southeast Asian serows and gorals. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1000168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Serows and gorals (Bovidae, Caprinae) are emblematic antelopes distributed in Southeast Asia. They all are nearly threaten or vulnerable species nowadays despite having a more widespread distribution during the Pleistocene. Fossils of three native caprine species, i.e., a Sumatran serow Capricornis sumatraensis, Chinese goral Naemorhedus griseus, and Himalayan goral Naemorhedus goral, were recovered from four Pleistocene paleontological and archeological sites in Thailand, namely Pha Bong, Khok Sung, Tham Wiman Nakin, and Tham Lod Rockshelter. To investigate dietary changes of these Southeast Asian serows and gorals through the Quaternary, differences in feeding habits and habitat preferences between the Pleistocene and extant populations were examined using the hypsodonty index (HI) together with the mesowear II method and the dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). The HI and mesowear-II results showed that Pleistocene and extant caprines were mixed feeders. For the Pleistocene caprine populations, the DMTA results suggested more browsing signals for C. sumatraensis than both Naemorhedus species that were mixed feeders similar to their extant populations. The DMTA demonstrated a considerable dietary overlap among the Pleistocene sympatric caprine populations. The dental microwear results also revealed that the extant C. sumatraensis is a leaf-dominant browser, while the extant N. griseus possibly feeds on seeds or tough food items. These data combined with previous stable carbon isotope analyses reinforce the idea that the restricted ranges of habitats for these extant serow and goral populations have possibly been driven by the Holocene climatic and environmental changes as well as the negative effects of human activities.
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Marom N, Lazagabaster IA, Shafir R, Natalio F, Eisenmann V, Horwitz LK. The Late Middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna of Oumm Qatafa Cave, Judean Desert: taxonomy, taphonomy and palaeoenvironment. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE 2022; 37:612-638. [PMID: 35915614 PMCID: PMC9314136 DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The Middle Pleistocene archaeological record of the southern Levant has proven key to understanding human evolution and intercontinental faunal biogeography. Knowledge of archaeological sites of that period in the southern Levant is biased, with most Middle Pleistocene localities in the Mediterranean areas in the north, despite the mosaic of environments that mark the entire region. A key Middle Pleistocene location in the Judean Desert - on the eastern margin of the Mediterranean zone - is the site of Oumm Qatafa, excavated in the early 1900s, which yielded a faunal collection spanning an estimated time period of 600-200 kya. Here, we present a revised taxonomy of the macromammalian fauna from the site, discuss the palaeoenvironmental implications of this assemblage, and relate the finds to other Pleistocene sites from the Levant. These data enable a more precise palaeoenvironmental reconstruction which attests to an open landscape, but with the addition of a mesic Mediterranean component close by. In addition, detailed taphonomic observations on butchery marks and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of burnt bone link the fauna for the first time to anthropogenic activities in the cave.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nimrod Marom
- School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures & the Recanati Institute for Maritime StudiesUniversity of Haifa, HaifaIsrael
| | - Ignacio A. Lazagabaster
- School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures & the Recanati Institute for Maritime StudiesUniversity of Haifa, HaifaIsrael
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Roee Shafir
- School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures & the Recanati Institute for Maritime StudiesUniversity of Haifa, HaifaIsrael
| | | | - Vera Eisenmann
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5143 du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CP 38, Département Histoire de la TerreParisFrance
| | - Liora Kolska Horwitz
- National Natural History CollectionsThe Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
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A nonanalog Pliocene ungulate community at Laetoli with implications for the paleoecology of Australopithecus afarensis. J Hum Evol 2022; 167:103182. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Martin LF, Ackermans NL, Tollefson TN, Kircher PR, Richter H, Hummel J, Codron D, Hatt JM, Clauss M. Tooth wear, growth and height in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) fed pelleted or extruded diets with or without added abrasives. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2021; 106:630-641. [PMID: 33982342 DOI: 10.1111/jpn.13565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Among the different factors thought to affect dental wear, dietary consistency is possibly the least investigated. To understand tooth wear of herbivorous animals consuming different dietary consistencies with different abrasive potential, we fed 14 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) exclusively with a timothy grassmeal-based diet in either pelleted or extruded form, or the same diets with an addition of 5% fine sand abrasives (mean size 130 µm). First, we offered the rabbits the pelleted and extruded diets as well as the pelleted control and pelleted abrasive diet in a two-stage preference experiment. Then, the rabbits received each diet for 2 weeks in a randomised serial feeding experiment, where each animal served as its own control. Tooth measurements for wear, growth and height were achieved using a manual calliper, endoscopic examination and CT scans. The analysis of the diets as fed showed almost identical mean particle size, but the extruded diet had a lower density (volume/mass) and softer consistency compared to the pelleted one and was favoured by most rabbits. The rabbits selected against the diet with sand during the preference experiment, possibly because it caused more tooth wear, especially on the teeth most exposed to wear along the upper tooth row (upper P4 and M1). The maxillary teeth also showed evidence of an increased chewing laterality by the end of the experiment. The extruded diet led to a significantly lower cheek teeth height than the pelleted diet, potentially due to the higher chewing effort needed for a similar dry matter intake. The results suggest that dietary hardness alone is a poor predictor of dental wear. The regrowth of the teeth matched wear consistently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise F Martin
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nicole L Ackermans
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Troy N Tollefson
- Mazuri® Exotic Animal Nutrition, PMI Nutrition International LLC, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Patrick R Kircher
- Clinic for Diagnostic Imaging, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Henning Richter
- Clinic for Diagnostic Imaging, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Hummel
- Department of Animal Sciences, Ruminant Nutrition, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daryl Codron
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract
Published mesowear data was reviewed from the year 2000 to November 2019 (211 publications, 707 species, 1,396 data points). Mesowear is a widely applied tooth wear technique that can be used to infer a herbivore’s diet by scoring the height and sharpness of molar tooth cusps with the naked eye. Established as a fast and efficient tool for paleodiet reconstruction, the technique has seen multiple adaptations, simplifications, and extensions since its establishment, which have become complex to follow. The present study reviews all successive changes and adaptations to the mesowear technique in detail, providing a template for the application of each technique to the research question at hand. In addition, the array of species to which mesowear has been applied, along with the equivalent recorded diets have been compiled here in a large dataset. This review provides an insight into the metrics related to mesowear publication since its establishment. The large dataset overviews whether the species to which the various techniques of mesowear are applied are extant or extinct, their phylogenetic classification, their assigned diets and diet stability between studies, as a resource for future research on the topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Ackermans
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Ackermans NL, Winkler DE, Martin LF, Kaiser TM, Clauss M, Hatt JM. Dust and grit matter: abrasives of different size lead to opposing dental microwear textures in experimentally fed sheep ( Ovis aries). J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb220442. [PMID: 31953361 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.220442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
External abrasives ingested along with the herbivore diet are considered main contributors to dental wear, though how the different sizes and concentrations of these abrasives influence wear remains unclear. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is an established method for dietary reconstruction which describes a tooth's surface topography on a micrometre scale. The method has yielded conflicting results as to the effect of external abrasives. In the present study, a feeding experiment was performed on sheep (Ovis aries) fed seven diets of different abrasiveness. Our aim was to discern the individual effects of size (4, 50 and 130 µm) and concentration (0%, 4% and 8% of dry matter) of abrasives on dental wear, applying DMTA to four tooth positions. Microwear textures differed between individual teeth, but surprisingly, showed no gradient along the molar tooth row, and the strongest differentiation of experimental groups was achieved when combining data of all maxillary molars. Overall, a pattern of increasing height, volume and complexity of the tooth's microscopic surface appeared with increasing size of dietary abrasives, and when compared with the control, the small abrasive diets showed a polishing effect. The results indicate that the size of dietary abrasives is more important for dental microwear texture traces than their concentration, and that different sizes can have opposing effects on the dietary signal. The latter finding possibly explains conflicting evidence from previous experimental DMTA applications. Further exploration is required to understand whether and how microscopic traces created by abrasives translate quantitatively to tissue loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Ackermans
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniela E Winkler
- Applied and Analytical Paleontology, Institute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany
- Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Louise F Martin
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas M Kaiser
- Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Martin LF, Winkler D, Tütken T, Codron D, De Cuyper A, Hatt JM, Clauss M. The way wear goes: phytolith-based wear on the dentine-enamel system in guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus). Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191921. [PMID: 31594498 PMCID: PMC6790768 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of phytoliths on tooth wear and function has been contested in studies of animal-plant interactions. For herbivores whose occlusal chewing surface consists of enamel ridges and dentine tissue, the phytoliths might particularly erode the softer dentine, exposing the enamel ridges to different occlusal forces and thus contributing to enamel wear. To test this hypothesis, we fed guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus; n = 36 in six groups) for three weeks exclusively on dry or fresh forage of low (lucerne), moderate (fresh timothy grass) or very high (bamboo leaves) silica content representing corresponding levels of phytoliths. We quantified the effect of these treatments with measurements from micro-computed tomography scans. Tooth height indicated extreme wear due to the bamboo diet that apparently brought maxillary incisors and molars close to the minimum required for functionality. There were negative relationships between a cheek tooth's height and the depth of its dentine basin, corroborating the hypothesis that dentine erosion plays an important role in herbivore tooth wear. In spite of lower body mass, bamboo-fed animals paradoxically had longer cheek tooth rows and larger occlusal surfaces. Because ever-growing teeth can only change in shape from the base upwards, this is a strong indication that failure to compensate for wear by dental height-growth additionally triggered general expansive growth of the tooth bases. The results suggest that enamel wear may intensify after enamel has been exposed due to a faster wear of the surrounding dentine tissue (and not the other way around), and illustrate a surprising plasticity in the reactivity of this rodent's system that adjusts tooth growth to wear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise F. Martin
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Daniela Winkler
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Thomas Tütken
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Daryl Codron
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
| | - Annelies De Cuyper
- Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke 9820, Belgium
| | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
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Ackermans NL, Winkler DE, Schulz-Kornas E, Kaiser TM, Müller DWH, Kircher PR, Hummel J, Clauss M, Hatt JM. Controlled feeding experiments with diets of different abrasiveness reveal slow development of mesowear signal in goats ( Capra aegagrus hircus). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.186411. [PMID: 30194251 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.186411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Dental mesowear is applied as a proxy to determine the general diet of mammalian herbivores based on tooth-cusp shape and occlusal relief. Low, blunt cusps are considered typical of grazers and high, sharp cusps typical of browsers. However, how internal or external abrasives impact mesowear, and the time frame the wear signature takes to develop, still need to be explored. Four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (lucerne, grass, grass and rice husks, and grass, rice husks and sand) were fed to four groups of a total of 28 adult goats in a controlled feeding experiment over a 6-month period. Tooth morphology was captured by medical CT scans at the beginning and end of the experiment. These scans, as well as the crania obtained post mortem, were scored using the mesowear method. Comparisons between diet groups showed few significant differences after 6 months, irrespective of whether CT scans or the real teeth were scored. Only when assessing the difference in signal between the beginning and the end of the experiment did relevant, significant diet-specific effects emerge. Diets containing lower phytolith content caused a more pronounced change in mesowear towards sharper cusps/higher reliefs, while the feed containing sand did not result in more extreme changes in mesowear when compared with the same feed without sand. Our experiment suggests that the formation of a stable and hence reliable mesowear signal requires more time to develop than 6 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Ackermans
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniela E Winkler
- Institute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany.,Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ellen Schulz-Kornas
- Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.,Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas M Kaiser
- Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dennis W H Müller
- Zoologischer Garten Halle GmbH, Fasanenstr. 5a, 06114 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Patrick R Kircher
- Division of Diagnostic Imaging, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Hummel
- Department of Animal Sciences, Ruminant Nutrition, Georg-August University, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Using Dental Mesowear and Microwear for Dietary Inference: A Review of Current Techniques and Applications. VERTEBRATE PALEOBIOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-94265-0_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Taylor LA, Müller DWH, Schwitzer C, Kaiser TM, Castell JC, Clauss M, Schulz-Kornas E. Comparative analyses of tooth wear in free-ranging and captive wild equids. Equine Vet J 2015; 48:240-5. [PMID: 25557934 DOI: 10.1111/evj.12408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Captive breeding has played a crucial role in the conservation of threatened equid species. Grazing ruminants and rhinoceros in captivity have less abrasion-dominated tooth wear than their free-ranging conspecifics, with potential negative consequences for their health. However, a similar study on wild equids in captivity is missing. OBJECTIVES The aim was to establish if different tooth wear patterns are exhibited by free-ranging and captive equids. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study of museum specimens comparing free-ranging and captive equids. METHODS Dental casts of maxillary cheek teeth of 228 museum specimens (122 from free-ranging and 106 from captive individuals) of 7 wild equid species were analysed using the extended mesowear method. Although teeth showing specific abnormalities were not scored, the presence of focal overgrowths (hooks) of the rostral premolars (106, 206) was recorded. RESULTS Captive Equus ferus przewalskii, E. grevyi, E. hemionus, E. quagga boehmi and E. zebra hartmannae have less abrasion-dominated tooth wear on their premolars than their free-ranging conspecifics (P<0.001). Fewer differences were exhibited between populations in the molars. No differences were exhibited in the distal cusp of the molars (110, 210) between populations, except in a small sample of E. kiang. Captive equids exhibited more homogeneous wear along the tooth row whereas free-ranging equids exhibited a tooth wear gradient, with more abrasion on premolars than molars. There were more rostral hooks on the premolars (106, 206) in the captive than the free-ranging population (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Captive equids did experience less abrasion-dominated tooth wear than their free-ranging conspecifics, but the differences in tooth wear were less pronounced than those between captive and free-ranging wild ruminant and rhinoceros species. This indicates that feeding regimes for captive equids deviate less from natural diets than those for captive ruminants and rhinoceros but that factors leading to hook formation, in particular feeding height, should receive special attention. The Summary is available in Chinese - see Supporting information.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A Taylor
- Bristol Zoological Society, c/o Bristol Zoo Gardens, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK
| | - D W H Müller
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland.,National Park 'Bavarian Forest', Grafenau, Germany
| | - C Schwitzer
- Bristol Zoological Society, c/o Bristol Zoo Gardens, UK
| | - T M Kaiser
- Centre of Natural History (CeNak) - University of Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - M Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - E Schulz-Kornas
- Centre of Natural History (CeNak) - University of Hamburg, Germany.,Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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15
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Müller J, Clauss M, Codron D, Schulz E, Hummel J, Kircher P, Hatt JM. Tooth length and incisal wear and growth in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) fed diets of different abrasiveness. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2014; 99:591-604. [PMID: 25041439 DOI: 10.1111/jpn.12226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Dental diseases are among the most important reasons for presenting guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and other rodents to veterinary clinics, but the aetiopathology of this disease complex is unclear. Clinicians tend to believe that the ever-growing teeth of rabbits and rodents have a constant growth that needs to be worn down by the mastication of an appropriate diet. In this study, we tested the effect of four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness [due to both internal (phytoliths) and external abrasives (sand)] or whole grass hay fed for 2 weeks each in random order to 16 guinea pigs on incisor growth and wear, and tooth length of incisors and cheek teeth. There was a positive correlation between wear and growth of incisors. Tooth lengths depended both on internal and external abrasives, but only upper incisors were additionally affected by the feeding of whole hay. Diet effects were most prominent in anterior cheek teeth, in particular M1 and m1. Cheek tooth angle did not become shallower with decreasing diet abrasiveness, suggesting that a lack of dietary abrasiveness does not cause the typical 'bridge formation' of anterior cheek teeth frequently observed in guinea pigs. The findings suggest that other factors than diet abrasiveness, such as mineral imbalances and in particular hereditary malocclusion, are more likely causes for dental problems observed in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Müller
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Müller J, Clauss M, Codron D, Schulz E, Hummel J, Fortelius M, Kircher P, Hatt JM. Growth and wear of incisor and cheek teeth in domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) fed diets of different abrasiveness. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 321:283-98. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.1864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Revised: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Müller
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife; Vetsuisse Faculty; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife; Vetsuisse Faculty; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - Daryl Codron
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife; Vetsuisse Faculty; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
- Florisbad Quaternary Research; National Museum; Bloemfontein South Africa
| | - Ellen Schulz
- Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum; University of Hamburg; Hamburg Germany
| | - Jürgen Hummel
- Department of Animal Sciences; Ruminant Nutrition; Georg-August University; Göttingen Germany
| | - Mikael Fortelius
- Department of Geosciences and Geography; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - Patrick Kircher
- Division of Diagnostic Imaging; Vetsuisse Faculty; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife; Vetsuisse Faculty; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
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