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Intra-Population Variation Of Hair And Fingernail Stable Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopes In London, Ontario, Canada Residents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sawyer C E Rowe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lockdowns and travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic forced a significant fraction of London, Ontario, Canada residents to remain in one location for long enough to reach isotopic equilibrium with their primary drinking water source(s). This situation created ideal natural conditions for measuring the isotopic fractionation between the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of drinking water and hair or nail tissues, and for determining the magnitude of intra-population variation in tissue δ²H and δ¹⁸O. Hair and nail of participants who reported exclusively drinking London municipal tap water spanned much larger δ²H and δ^{18 …}

Stable Carbon And Oxygen Isotopes As Environmental Indicators Of The Late Pleistocene Inel Arenoso, Sonora, Northwest Mexico, Victor Adrian Perez Crespo, Tamara Cruz Y Cruz, Alejandro Terrazas Mata, Pedro Morales Puente, Martha Benavente, Edith Cienfuegos-Alvrado, Francisco J. Otero

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The paleoenvironment conditions that existed in the Late Pleistocene at the archaeological-paleontological site of El Arenoso, Sonora, NW Mexico, were inferred using the carbon and oxygen stable isotopes from one bison, one mammoth, and thirteen horses as well as the pedological characteristics and the carbon isotopes of calcium carbonates from paleosoil. The values δ13C of the bison (-1.4‰), the horses (-2.8‰), and the mammoth (-4.3‰) show that these animals fed mainly on C4 plants and carbon isotopic values from profile horizons of locality 4Bgk (-3.4‰), 3Ck (-3.4‰), and 2Bgk2 (-5.7‰) indicated the presence of C3/C4 vegetation mixed in El Arenoso. …

The Skiles Mummy: Care Of A Debilitated Hunter-Gatherer Evidenced By Coprolite Studies And Stable Isotopic Analysis Of Hair, Kirsten A. Verostick, Isabel Teixeira-Santos, Vaughn M. Bryant Jr., Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The Skiles Mummy (SMM), a naturally mummified adult male from the late archaic period of Lower Pecos Canyonlands of South Texas, represents a unique case of care. SMM is an exceptional mummy within this region due to both the retention of a full head of hair, and having a diagnosed case of megacolon, a complication commonly associated with Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Stable isotopic analysis of his hair is consistent with a diet incorporating of C₄/CAM plants with some C₃ plants, freshwater resources, and higher trophic level animals. However, the segments of hair most …

Using Stable Isotopes To Understand Survival Versus Extinction Of Late Pleistocene Muskoxen, Stephanie Mabee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis uses stable isotopes to investigate the adaptive advantages of Ovibos moschatus, a muskox, relative to now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna in eastern Beringia (Yukon Territory and Alaska), including another muskox Bootherium bombifrons. Ecological niches were defined for Ovibos and Bootherium using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of bone collagen. Plant remains trapped in modern Ovibos molars were used to determine the carbon and nitrogen isotope collagen-diet discrimination factors, which were then applied to ancient specimens. Ovibos possessed larger isotopic – and hence ecological – niches than Bootherium across eastern Beringian sites. The larger niche suggests that Ovibos …

Diet Of The Prehistoric Population Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) Shows Environmental Adaptation And Resilience, Catrine L. Jarmine, Thomas Larsen, Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo, Reidar Solsvik, Natalie Wallsgrove, Cassie Ka'apu-Lyons, Hilary G. Close, Brian N. Popp

Carl Lipo

Objectives: The Rapa Nui “ecocide” narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources.

Materials and methods: Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analy- ses and amino acid …

Parasitic Indicators Of Foraging Strategies In Wading Birds, Sarah Gumbleton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Feeding ecology and trophic interactions of six species of wading birds were explored through a combined analysis of stable isotope profiles and endoparasite communities. Stable isotopes broadly characterize the feeding preferences and geographic information, while parasite communities reflect long-term trends in feeding ecology. Deceased birds were obtained from four South Florida wildlife rehabilitation organizations. Of the 81 birds dissected, 73 contained parasites. Parasites were predominately found within the gastrointestinal tract. Host and range extensions were noted for several parasite taxa. Bird host species had a significant effect on the parasite community (P=0.001) while wildlife center location and maturity status did …

Middle Miocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction Of The Central Great Plains From Stable Carbon Isotopes In Large Mammals, Willow H. Nguy

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Middle Miocene (18-12 Mya) mammalian faunas of the North American Great Plains contained a much higher diversity of apparent browsers than any modern biome. This has been attributed to greater primary productivity, which may have supported greater browser diversity that commonly corresponds with densely vegetated habitats. However, several lines of proxy evidence suggest that open woodlands or savannas dominated middle Miocene biomes; neither of which support many browsers today. Stable carbon isotopes in mammalian herbivore tooth enamel were used to reconstruct vegetation structure of middle Miocene biomes.

Stable carbon isotopes in C₃ dominated environments reflect vegetation density and herbivores …

Diet Of The Prehistoric Population Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) Shows Environmental Adaptation And Resilience, Catrine L. Jarmine, Thomas Larsen, Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo, Reidar Solsvik, Natalie Wallsgrove, Cassie Ka'apu-Lyons, Hilary G. Close, Brian N. Popp

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: The Rapa Nui “ecocide” narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources.

Materials and methods: Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analy- ses and amino acid …

Novel Techniques In Chemical Ecology To Examine Life Histories In Fishes, Orian Tzadik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diet and movements in fishes are often logistically challenging to study. Trace element and stable isotope analyses have advanced these fields considerably, but are still constrained by methodological impediments, such as the tendency towards lethal sampling. Studying endangered fishes is particularly challenging as representative samples are difficult to obtain. However, the information gained from such studies is often critical to the recovery of endangered fishes as knowledge of life history attributes has the potential to greatly influence the success of management strategies.

I tested the viability of using fin rays in fishes as a non-lethal approach to study diet and …

Reconstructing Subsistence Practices Of Southwestern Ontario Late Woodland Peoples (A.D. 900-1600) Using Stable Isotopic Analyses Of Faunal Material, Zoe H. Morris

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Stable carbon–, nitrogen–, and oxygen–isotope analyses of animal bones and teeth from 28 archaeological sites are used to reconstruct human subsistence behaviour, i.e., increased maize horticulturalism, during the Late Woodland period (A.D. 1000–1650) in southwestern Ontario. The isotopic data provided dietary, seasonal, and geographic information, which was analysed within archaeological, symbolic, and ecological contexts and used to reconstruct the diets, hunting patterns, and animal processing practices of two neighbouring groups, the Ontario Iroquoian and Western Basin peoples.

Paleodietary and seasonality analyses focused on the following species: canids (domestic dogs, foxes, and wolves), wild turkeys and white-tailed deer, though additional fauna …

Multi-Isotope Analysis To Reconstruct Dietary And Migration Patterns Of An Avar Population From Sajópetri, Hungary, Ad 568-895, Liotta Desiree Noche-Dowdy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Avar were nomadic people from Central Asia who migrated into the Carpathian Basin in Central-Eastern Europe during the mid to late Migration Period (AD 568 - 895). Archaeological evaluation of grave goods and documentation of mortuary practices have been the primary means of understanding the Avar. However, this approach has largely neglected skeletal and biochemical analysis, in particular as these approaches relate to the biological variation, ancestry, and dietary patterns of the Avar.

There remains debate as to whether disparities existed among the socially stratified Avar population of ancient Hungary. It is argued by some that these disparities existed …

Using The Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Compositions Of Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus Pygerythrus) To Examine Questions In Ethnoprimatology, James E. Loudon, J. Paul Grobler, Matt Sponheimer, Kimberly Moyer, Joseph G. Lorenz, Trudy R. Turner

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

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 …

Assessment Of Age At Weaning For Post-Contact Maya Of Tipu, Belize, Using Stable Carbon, Nitrogen, And Oxygen Isotope Ratios, Chaney Hiers

LSU Master's Theses

Age at weaning was assessed for a post-Spanish contact Maya population, the Tipu, by sampling 25 individuals (20 subadults less than seven years of age and five females from 18 to 45 years of age). Whole ribs, for younger subadults, and rib fragments, for older subadults and adults, were sampled for stable nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen isotope ratios. Five lines of evidence were used to assess age at weaning: stable carbon composition from collagen (δ13Ccol), stable nitrogen composition from collagen (δ15Ncol), stable carbon composition from apatite (δ13Cap), difference in collagen and apatite composition (Δ13Cap-col), and stable oxygen composition from apatite …

Exploring The Movement Of People In Postclassic And Historic Period Lamanai Using Stable Isotopes, Alicia E. Donis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The location of the Maya site of Lamanai on the New River Lagoon in northern Belize strategically situated it to participate in both coastal and inland trade routes and communication. This study of human burials at Lamanai examines the phosphate-oxygen isotope compositions of bone and enamel, which reflect drinking water and hence climatic zones, oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope compositions of modern local water, which provide a baseline for drinking water, and carbon- and nitrogen-isotope compositions of bone collagen, which reflect diet. The combination of isotopic, mortuary, osteological, and artifactual data is used to explore mobility at Lamanai during the Postclassic and …

A Multi-Isotope Investigation Of Two Medieval German Populations: Insight Into The Relationship Among Diet, Disease, And Tissue Isotopic Compositions, Karyn C. Olsen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the relationship between disease and bone collagen isotope compositions, and uses isotopic analyses of human and faunal bone to examine the diet and geographic associations of two medieval (9th to 16th century) German communities derived from urban (Regensburg, n=111) and rural (Dalheim, n=24) contexts.

The first goal of this research was to determine the reliability of bone collagen isotopic compositions to characterize diet in unhealthy individuals. Examples of bone pathology were selected from two medieval samples and one modern/historic skeletal collection (n=49) in order to measure the extent to which pathology influences intra-skeletal isotopic variability. The carbon- …

Origins Of Stable Isotopic Variations In Late Pleistocene Horse Enamel And Bone From Alberta, Nicolle S. Bellissimo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Oxygen and carbon isotopic measurements of coevally formed bone and tooth enamel bioapatite from a modern equid show that these tissues record drinking water and diet isotopic signals in an identical fashion. Hence, data for both tissues can be combined to track movement, dietary changes, and seasonal variability over the animal’s lifetime, and climatic variability over longer time periods. This tool was tested for horses using ten paired tooth and bone samples to reconstruct conditions in Alberta during the Late Pleistocene. While post-mortem isotopic alteration confounded interpretation of the results, two key findings emerged: (i) pre- and post-Last Glacial Maximum …

Late Pleistocene Climate And Proboscidean Paleoecology In North America: Insights From Stable Isotope Compositions Of Skeletal Remains, Jessica Z. Metcalfe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis uses the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope compositions of mammoth (Mammuthus) and mastodon (Mammut) skeletal remains to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleoecology in Late Pleistocene North America. Analytical methods, sampling strategies, environmental adaptations and seasonal behaviors of proboscideans were investigated.

Reliable and reproducible results are crucial for a study of this nature. A persistent methodological problem in the isotope analysis of structural carbonate in bioapatite was solved by reacting bioapatite under “sealed vessel” conditions.

Growth rate determinations are critical for designing sampling strategies and interpreting results. Histological and isotopic measurements demonstrated variations in enamel growth …

A Proposed Methodology For Predicting The Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotope Measures Of K'Inich Yax K'Uk Mo', Copan Dynastic Founder, Keith Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to show that stable isotope analysis can be used to predict K’inich Yax K’uk Mo’s stable isotope measures based on Stuart’s (2007) hypothesis that K’inich Yax K’uk Mo’, the dynastic founder of the Copan royal lineage, was a Caracol lord. There is significant and convincing evidence that K’inich Yak K’uk Mo’ had a non-Copanec origin. Stable isotope analysis is a tested and reliable method for detailing diets and migratory paths of ancient humans and this theory is applied as a predictor of the stable isotope measures of K’inich Yax K’uk Mo’, if he did …

Ontogenetic Dietary Information Of The California Sea Lion (Zalophus Californianus) Assessed Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Anthony J. Orr, Seth D. Newsome, Jeffrey L. Laake, Glenn R. Vanblaricom, Robert L. Delong

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We used stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes to examine ontogenetic dietary changes in 289 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) at San Miguel Island, California during 2004–2007. Tissues analyzed included fur, red blood cells, plasma, and serum. For all tissues, pups had higher δ¹⁵N values and lower δ¹³C values compared to adults, which indicated that pups were feeding higher trophically than older conspecifics and on a lipid-rich milk diet prior to weaning. Yearling δ¹⁵N values were slightly lower than pup or nearly indistinguishable from adult values depending …

Chronology And Ecology Of Late Pleistocene Megafauna In The Northern Willamette Valley, Oregon, Daniel Mcgowan Gilmour

Dissertations and Theses

This study is an investigation of the timing of extinction of late Pleistocene, large bodied mammalian herbivores (megafauna) and of the environment in which they lived. The demise of the megafauna near the end of the Pleistocene remains unexplained. Owing to potential human involvement in the extinctions, archaeologists have been particularly concerned to understand the causes for faunal losses. Our current lack of understanding of the timing and the causes of the extinctions in North America may result from a deficiency in understanding the histories of each individual species of extinct animal on a local level. Detailed regional chronologies of …

Reconstruction Of Late Holocene Precipitation For Central Florida As Derived From Isotopes In Speleothems, Limaris R. Soto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the paleo-precipitation of the Florida Peninsula. In order to better understand Floridas late Holocene climate variability (last 4,200 years), the isotopic composition was analyzed of four speleothems from two caves, in West-Central Florida. Two speleothems were collected from BRC Cave in Hernando County, and two others from Briar Cave in Marion County. This study represents the first speleothem-based paleoclimate records for Florida.

Uranium-series disequilibrium analyses were determined by using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) to provide accurate determination of chronology of the deposition of the speleothems. Stable isotopic analyses of oxygen and carbon were performed using …

Culinary Confusion: Using Osteological And Stable Isotopic Evidence To Reconstruct Paleodiet For The Ocmulgee/Blackshear Cordmarked People Of South Central Georgia, Bryan D. Tucker

LSU Master's Theses

The Ocmulgee Big Bend and Lake Blackshear regions of Georgia have diverse uplands and lowlands, rich in different types of food. Archaeological investigations have shown Late Woodland-style ceramics and artifacts extending up to the Middle Mississippian Period in these regions. Archaeologists have proposed the people of this region did not adopt maize agriculture or a Mississippian subsistence or cultural pattern during the Early Mississippian Period. This study tests this hypothesis with osteological and isotopic data from burials recovered from the Cannon site (9Cp52) and osteological data from the Telfair Mound site (9Tf2). Isotopic data demonstrate clearly that these people were …