Bioapatite 87Sr/86Sr of the last woolly mammoths—Implications for the isolation of Wrangel Island

Temporal genetic change in the last remaining population of woolly mammoth

“…Based on the low frequency of mammoth specimens on Wrangel Island that dates to the Late Pleistocene, Vartanyan et al (2008) suggested that mammoths only visited the Wrangel area occasionally during this period. This was further supported by Arppe et al (2009) who interpreted a difference in strontium isotope values in Late Pleistocene and Mid-Holocene mammoth bones as a shift in mammoth range in the area. The high genetic variation that we found in the samples from Wrangel Island before 12 000 yr BP in our study is in accordance with a genetic signature of a large population inhabiting the continuous tundra-steppe region on the mainland.…”

Isotope compositions (C, O, Sr, Nd) of vertebrate fossils from the Middle Eocene oil shale of Messel, Germany: Implications for their taphonomy and palaeoenvironment

“…Thus bioavailable Sr isotope signatures are incorporated from the environment unchanged into bioapatite of bones and teeth (Price et al, 2002;Maurer et al, 2012). Therefore 87 Sr/ 86 Sr can be used to distinguish local from non-local individuals and detect habitat use (Beard and Johnson, 2000;Feranec et al, 2007;Arppe et al, 2009;Copeland et al, 2011) migration between isotopically distinct geological domains (Sillen et al, 1998;Hoppe et al, 1999;Blum et al, 2000;Britton et al, 2009Britton et al, , 2011 as well as the migration histories of individuals (Hoppe et al, 1999;Müller et al, 2003;Schweissing and Grupe, 2003;Balter et al, 2008). Here 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios are used to characterise the habitat (i.e.…”

Nd and Sr isotope compositions in modern and fossil bones – Proxies for vertebrate provenance and taphonomy

“…The Sr isotope composition of bones and teeth of modern and fossil terrestrial vertebrates is widely applied as an isotopic fingerprint to determine the provenance, habitat, and migration of animals and humans (e.g., Vogel et al, 1990;Sillen et al, 1998;Hoppe et al, 1999;Beard and Johnson, 2000;Blum et al, 2000;Price et al, 2002;Bentley, 2006;Feranec et al, 2007;Arppe et al, 2009;Copeland et al, 2011). However, to constrain the provenance and mobility of individuals it is important to know the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the bioavailable Sr ingested by the animal or human being, which can best be done by analyzing modern plant and water samples or tissues of modern animals from the area of interest (e.g., Price et al, 2002;Bentley, 2006).…”