Fifty years of Cook Inlet beluga whale feeding ecology from isotopes in bone and teeth

Nelson, Mark A.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Mahoney, Barbara A.; Taras, Brian D.; Wooller, Matthew J.

doi:10.3354/esr00890

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…fish scales, skin, bone, teeth; and is also typically abundant in natural history collections) and, therefore, can provide unparalleled opportunities for retrospective research reaching back years, decades or centuries into the past (e.g. Guiry & Hunt, 2020; Nelson, Quakenbush, Mahoney, Taras, & Wooller, 2018; Newsome et al., 2007; Wainright, Fogarty, Greenfield, & Fry, 1993). Moreover, the isotopic composition of collagen from modern and archived tissues is directly comparable (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality control for modern bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements

2020

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Isotopic analyses of collagen, the main protein preserved in subfossil bone and tooth, has long provided a powerful tool for the reconstruction of ancient diets and environments. Although isotopic studies of contemporary ecosystems have typically focused on more accessible tissues (e.g. muscle, hair), there is growing interest in the potential for analyses of collagen because it is often available in hard tissue archives (e.g. scales, skin, bone, tooth), allowing for enhanced long‐term retrospective studies. The quality of measurements of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of ancient samples is subject to robust and well‐established criteria for detection of contaminants and diagenesis. Among these quality control (QC) criteria, the most widely utilized is the atomic C:N ratio (C:NAtomic), which for ancient samples has an acceptable range between 2.9 and 3.6. While this QC criterion was developed for ancient materials, it has increasingly being applied to collagen from modern tissues. Here, we use a large survey of published collagen amino acid compositions (n = 436) from 193 vertebrate species as well as recent experimental isotopic evidence from 413 modern collagen extracts to demonstrate that the C:NAtomic range used for ancient samples is not suitable for assessing collagen quality of modern and archived historical samples. For modern tissues, collagen C:NAtomic falling outside 3.00–3.30 for fish and 3.00–3.28 for mammals and birds can produce systematically skewed isotopic compositions and may lead to significant interpretative errors. These findings are followed by a review of protocols for improving C:NAtomic criteria for modern collagen extracts. Given the tremendous conservation and environmental policy‐informing potential that retrospective isotopic analyses of collagen from contemporary and archived vertebrate tissues have for addressing pressing questions about long‐term environmental conditions and species behaviours, it is critical that QC criteria tailored to modern tissues are established.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality control for modern bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements

2020

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“…Furthermore, when coastal mammals exploit populations of diadromous fishes during their migrations between ocean and freshwater, this food resource will undergo rapid isotopic change. Therefore, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in teeth of principally marine consumers known to target anadromous fishes during spawning migrations (e.g., beluga whales [Nelson et al 2018]) should be interpreted with caution, as departures from the global marine value could be due to feeding on a marine resource that partially reflects the freshwater isotopic endmember (e.g., bright salmon [Supporting Information]). It is imperative to constrain such processes (i.e., concentration-dependence and isotopic changes of migratory prey) with respect to 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios.…”

Section: Quantifying Marine Versus Freshwater Habitat and Resource Usmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and to a population of endangered beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) (Nelson et al. ). No one, however, has quantified 2 critical aspects of Sr biogeochemistry necessary to accurately interpret how 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios inform habitat and resource use of aquatic mammals among freshwater and marine ecosystems: isotopic changes of migratory prey (e.g., diadromous fishes) and concentration dependence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Strontium (Sr) isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) represent a potentially useful tracer to understand movement and resource use patterns of aquatic mammals among freshwater and marine systems. But their use has been limited to a study on the paleoecology of extinct Miocene desmostylians (Clementz et al 2003) and to a population of endangered beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) (Nelson et al 2018). No one, however, has quantified 2 critical aspects of Sr biogeochemistry necessary to accurately interpret how 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios inform habitat and resource use of aquatic mammals among freshwater and marine ecosystems: isotopic changes of migratory prey (e.g., diadromous fishes) and concentration dependence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isotopes in teeth and a cryptic population of coastal freshwater seals

Brennan

Fernández

Burns

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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Human activities threaten the biodiversity of aquatic mammals across the globe. Conservation of these species hinges on the ability to delineate movements and foraging behaviors of animals, but gaining such insights is hampered by difficulties in tracing individuals over their lives. We determined isotope ratios in teeth (87Sr/86Sr, 13C/12C, and 18O/16O) to examine lifelong movement and resource‐use patterns of a unique freshwater population of a wide‐ranging pinniped species (harbor seal [Phoca vitulina]) that resides in Iliamna Lake, Alaska (U.S.A.). This population's potentially unique migratory behavior and use of different trophic resources are unknown. The isotope ratios we measured in teeth showed that seals were born in the lake, remained lifelong residents, and relied principally on resources produced from in the lake, even when seasonally abundant and nutrient‐dense spawning anadromous fish (i.e., sockeye salmon [Oncorhynchus nerka]) were available in the lake. Our results illustrate how serial isotope records in teeth, particularly 87Sr/86Sr ratios, can be used to quantify how coastal mammal populations exploit both freshwater and marine ecosystems. Understanding lifelong patterns of habitat and resource use is essential information when designing effective conservation plans for threatened coastal mammals. We present the Iliamna Lake harbor seals as a unique case study into how isotope records within teeth can help reveal the cryptic ecology of such a population residing in an intact ecosystem. The results also provide critical baseline information for the Kvichak River system, which is facing an uncertain future due to proposed large‐scale industrial development and a rapidly changing climate.

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“…The situation for the beluga, or white whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ), is less clear. Trends in abundance are known for only 6 of 22 populations [ 18 ], and studies of diet and body condition are rare [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Beluga populations can be either local or migratory [ 18 ], with those that are local often considered to be at greater risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking arctic marine mammal resilience in an era of rapid ecosystem alteration

Moore

Reeves²

2018

PLoS Biol

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Global warming is significantly altering arctic marine ecosystems. Specifically, the precipitous loss of sea ice is creating a dichotomy between ice-dependent polar bears and pinnipeds that are losing habitat and some cetaceans that are gaining habitat. While final outcomes are hard to predict for the many and varied marine mammal populations that rely on arctic habitats, we suggest a simplified framework to assess status, based upon ranking a population’s size, range, behavior, and health. This basic approach is proposed as a means to prioritize and expedite conservation and management efforts in an era of rapid ecosystem alteration.

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Fifty years of Cook Inlet beluga whale feeding ecology from isotopes in bone and teeth

Cited by 14 publications

References 45 publications

Quality control for modern bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements

Quality control for modern bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements

Isotopes in teeth and a cryptic population of coastal freshwater seals

Tracking arctic marine mammal resilience in an era of rapid ecosystem alteration

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