3D dental microwear texture analysis of feeding habits of sympatric ruminants in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

Garcia, Géraldine; Hofman‐Kamińska, Emilia; Kowalczyk, Rafał

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.041

Cited by 72 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Indeed, roebuck shot in winter while foraging a lot on fallen acorns have higher complexity of dental microwear textures than females browsing mostly on brambles semi-persistent and mature leaves. Such differences are also supported when comparing the dental microwear textures between the leaf-browsing giraffe and the frugivorous yellow-back duiker (Merceron et al 2014). Although the advent of DMTA has allowed for more precise and repeatable dietary reconstructions , the root causes for the formation of microwear patterns remain to be characterized in a controlled setting (Hua et al 2015;Xia et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Dental Microwear Textural Analysis (DMTA hereafter) has proved to be particularly useful in assessing diets of fossil as well as modern taxa (Calandra and Merceron 2016;Haupt et al, 2013;Merceron et al 2007Merceron et al , 2014Scott et al 2006;Souron et al 2015;Ungar et al 2007). Among modern ungulates, the only mammals that have been extensively studied are the African antelopes (Ungar et al 2007;Scott 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seeds, browse, and tooth wear: a sheep perspective

Ramdarshan

Blondel

Brunetière

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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While grazing as a selective factor towards hypsodont dentition on mammals has gained a lot of attention, the importance of fruits and seeds as fallback resources for many browsing ungulates has caught much less attention. Controlled‐food experiments, by reducing the dietary range, allow for a direct quantification of the effect of each type of items separately on enamel abrasion. We present the results of a dental microwear texture analysis on 40 ewes clustered into four different controlled diets: clover alone, and then three diets composed of clover together with either barley, corn, or chestnuts. Among the seed‐eating groups, only the barley one shows higher complexity than the seed‐free group. Canonical discriminant analysis is successful at correctly classifying the majority of clover‐ and seed‐fed ewes. Although this study focuses on diets which all fall within a single dietary category (browse), the groups show variations in dental microwear textures in relation with the presence and the type of seeds. More than a matter of seed size and hardness, a high amount of kernels ingested per day is found to be correlated with high complexity on enamel molar facets. This highlights the high variability of the physical properties of the foods falling under the browsing umbrella.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeds, browse, and tooth wear: a sheep perspective

Ramdarshan

Blondel

Brunetière

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Dietary plasticity in the fossil record of Pleistocene mammals has been investigated through various proxies such as stable isotopes (Julien et al 2012;Bonde 2013) or tooth microwear (Rivals et al 2009(Rivals et al , 2012Rivals & Semprebon 2011;Merceron et al 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

Latitude matters: an examination of behavioural plasticity in dietary traits amongst extant and Pleistocene Rangifer tarandus

Rivals

Semprebon

2016

Boreas

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The geographical distribution of species affects their dietary traits relative to resources available in different latitudes. Dietary traits of Rangifer tarandus, a species with a wide geographical distribution, were investigated using tooth mesowear and microwear methods in eight extant populations from Canada. The data show a latitudinal shift corresponding to a vegetational gradient from the taiga to the tundra, i.e. an increase of lichen consumption from the low to the high latitudes. This pattern is also evidenced in the Pleistocene fossil record of Europe where R. tarandus populations from low latitude localities show a lower consumption of lichen than at higher latitudes. Florent Rivals

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“…More specifically, an increase in dietary abrasiveness is expected to result in higher texture anisotropy (epLsar) and lower complexity (Asfc). Indeed, previous studies on wild, modern ungulates have shown that grazers have lower complexity and higher anisotropy than mixed feeders and browsers (Merceron et al, 2014;Schulz et al, 2013b;Scott, 2012;Souron et al, 2015;Ungar et al, 2007). 2D microwear analyses of herbivorous and omnivorous muroid rodents point to the same patterns (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Silicon-based plant defences, tooth wear and voles

Calandra

Zub

Szafrańska

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Plant-herbivore interactions are hypothesized to drive vole population cycles through the grazing-induced production of phytoliths in leaves. Phytoliths act as mechanical defences because they deter herbivory and lower growth rates in mammals. However, how phytoliths impair herbivore performance is still unknown. Here, we tested whether the amount of phytoliths changes tooth wear patterns. If confirmed, abrasion from phytoliths could play a role in population crashes. We applied dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to laboratory and wild voles. Lab voles were fed two pelleted diets with differing amounts of silicon, which produced similar dental textures. This was most probably due to the loss of food mechanical properties through pelletization and/or the small difference in silicon concentration between diets. Wild voles were trapped in Poland during spring and summer, and every year across a population cycle. In spring, voles feed on silica-rich monocotyledons, while in the summer they also include silicadepleted dicotyledons. This was reflected in the results; the amount of silica therefore leaves a traceable record in the dental microwear texture of voles. Furthermore, voles from different phases of population cycles have different microwear textures. We tentatively propose that these differences result from grazing-induced phytolith concentrations. We hypothesize that the high amount of phytoliths in response to intense grazing in peak years may result in malocclusion and other dental abnormalities, which would explain how these silicon-based plant defences help provoke population crashes. DMTA could then be used to reconstruct vole population dynamics using teeth from pellets or palaeontological material.

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3D dental microwear texture analysis of feeding habits of sympatric ruminants in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

Cited by 72 publications

References 43 publications

Seeds, browse, and tooth wear: a sheep perspective

Seeds, browse, and tooth wear: a sheep perspective

Latitude matters: an examination of behavioural plasticity in dietary traits amongst extant and Pleistocene Rangifer tarandus

Silicon-based plant defences, tooth wear and voles

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