Preliminary in situ teeth study of the narrow‐ridged finless porpoises remains using microsynchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

In recent years, a growing number of the narrow‐ridged finless porpoises were found dead near the Yangtze River estuary. In this region lived two sympatric subspecies, respectively, the East Asian finless porpoise and the Yangtze finless porpoise. So far, it is difficult to distinguish these two subspecies due to their similar shape and unavailable molecular marker. In this work, synchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence (SRXRF) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) were applied for in situ teeth trace chemical analysis to study subspecies identification and migration near the Yangtze River estuary. Teeth Sr concentration and 87Sr/86Sr ratios, determined by SRXRF and LA‐ICP‐MS techniques, have potential application in the identification of the finless porpoise subspecies. Only one (Sample S4) of the six samples was concluded as the Yangtze finless porpoise, and the others were the East Asian finless porpoise. This study also proved that the Sr/Ca and Zn/Ca ratios could be used as a useful environmental indicator to detect the migratory history of narrow‐ridged finless porpoises.

Synchrotron X-ray Studies of the Structural and Functional Hierarchies in Mineralised Human Dental Enamel: A State-of-the-Art Review

“…In this regard, in this second part of the review, the main focus is to give an overview of the use of synchrotron X-ray applications in human dental research (for animal species, numerous studies have been carried out on a variety of species and fossils [ 256 , 257 , 258 , 259 , 260 , 261 , 262 , 263 , 264 , 265 , 266 , 267 , 268 , 269 , 270 , 271 , 272 , 273 , 274 , 275 , 276 , 277 , 278 , 279 ], as well as studies on biofilms [ 280 , 281 , 282 , 283 ]). This review was performed by searching several platforms, including ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and SciFinder.…”

Exploring the Use of SEM–EDS Analysis to Measure the Distribution of Major, Minor, and Trace Elements in Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Teeth

“…Further, in contrast to most terrestrial mammals, which are diphyodonts and produce two sets of teeth (deciduous and permanent), dolphins are monophyodonts and develop only one set of teeth [1,[5][6]. In marine mammals, teeth grow incrementally, and once incorporated within the tooth structure, major [e.g., calcium (C), phosphorous (P)], minor [e.g., chlorine (Cl) magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na)], and trace elements [e.g., cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn)] remain unaltered, thereby reflecting an organism's physiology, ambient environmental conditions, dietary intake, and exposure to trace elements including contaminants [e.g., Cd, chromium (Cr), Pb, Hg] [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The chemical composition of teeth and the spatial distribution of major and minor elements within teeth influences tooth function [18][19].…”