Stable Isotopes Trace the Truth: From Adulterated Foods to Crime Scenes

Ehleringer, James R.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Valenzuela, Luciano O.; Tipple, Brett J.; Martinelli, Luiz Antônio

doi:10.2113/gselements.11.4.259

Cited by 25 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…As mentioned, δ 13 C analysis is predominantly used for dietary studies and less widely for mobility studies. However, owing to both the natural, and anthropogenic, distributions of C 3 and C 4 plants worldwide and at smaller spatial resolutions, δ 13 C isotope analyses of various human and animal tissues (teeth, bones, hair, feathers) are increasingly applied to provenance and mobility research in various fields of research ranging from wildlife ecology to forensics (e.g., Ehleringer et al 2015;Font et al 2015;Hobson et al 2012;Veen et al 2014). Additionally, owing to the existence of geographic variation in ancient foodways, δ 13 C isotope analyses are also increasingly applied to paleomobility studies in archeology, alone or more commonly in conjunction with other isotope data (e.g., Cook and Price 2015;Santana et al 2016;Sayre et al 2015;Schroeder et al 2009).…”

Section: Isotope Provenance Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Laffoon

Sonnemann

Antczak

et al. 2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Archeological excavations of Amerindian sites on Dos Mosquises Island, Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela, uncovered a wide range of evidence reflecting seasonal exploitation of local resources and multiple ritual depositions of large quantities of ceramic figurines, lithics, and faunal remains. Zooarchaeological analysis revealed the presence of modified and unmodified bones and teeth from numerous imported mammal species. Local geographic and environmental conditions preclude permanent establishment of terrestrial mammal populations and as such, there are no native mammalian taxa on the island itself or the surrounding oceanic archipelago. The presence of these faunal remains on Dos Mosquises can be attributed to the intentional movement of animal resources from the mainland to Los Roques by indigenous groups in the Late Ceramic Age (~AD 1200-1500). Despite attributions to a mainland source region, little else is known about the origins of these unique specimens. Here, we apply strontium (87 Sr/ 86 Sr), oxygen (δ 18 O), and carbon (δ 13 C) isotope analyses of tooth enamel from various archeologically recovered taxa including deer, peccary, tapir, ocelot, margay, opossum, fox, and weasel to investigate their geographic origins via comparisons with macro-regional models of precipitation δ 18 O and bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr results are highly variable both for the overall assemblage and between specimens within the same taxa, indicating origins from different geochemical environments of mainland South America. The combined archeological and isotopic evidence are consistent with origins within the late pre-colonial Valencioid Sphere of Interaction which encompassed the Lake Valencia Basin, surrounding regions, and several offshore island groups including Los Roques archipelago.

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Section: Isotope Provenance Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Laffoon

Sonnemann

Antczak

et al. 2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…The seasonal characterization of different basin areas through natural tracers, spatially displayed through a set of isoscapes and electric conductivity maps ( Figures S4 and S5), can also constitute a baseline for determining the origin of plant and animal tissues that incorporate this water in a constitutive form, i.e., when the tissue is formed. Using this information could be possible to determine the origins of tissues such as feathers, hairs or seeds, becoming possible to infer dietary habits and migratory patterns, with high applicability for social, geographic, ecological and forensic studies [29][30][31].…”

Section: Geochemical Water Information To Be Used In Climate Change Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Does the Chilean Aconcagua River Come from? Use of Natural Tracers for Water Genesis Characterization in Glacial and Periglacial Environments

Crespo

Lavergne

Fernandoy

et al. 2020

Water

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The Aconcagua river basin (Chile, 32 °S) has suffered the effects of the megadrought over the last decade. The severe snowfall deficiency drastically modified the water supply to the catchment headwaters. Despite the recognized snowmelt contribution to the basin, an unknown streamflow buffering effect is produced by glacial, periglacial and groundwater inputs, especially in dry periods. Hence, each type of water source was characterized and quantified for each season, through the combination of stable isotope and ionic analyses as natural water tracers. The δ18O and electric conductivity were identified as the key parameters for the differentiation of each water source. The use of these parameters in the stable isotope mixing “simmr” model revealed that snowmelt input accounted 52% in spring and only 22–36% during the rest of the year in the headwaters. While glacial supply contributed up to 34%, both groundwater and periglacial exhibited a remarkable contribution around 20% with some seasonal variations. Downstream, glacial contribution averaged 15–20%, groundwater seasonally increased up to 46%, and periglacial input was surprisingly high (i.e., 14–21%). The different water sources contribution quantification over time for the Aconcagua River reported in this work provides key information for water security in this territory.

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“…Stable isotopes offer an alternative approach to study predator ecology, with δ 13 C values reflecting the original source of the carbon as coming from either C 3 or C 4 plants and δ 15 N values typically reflecting trophic level (Ehleringer et al, 2015). Because many pet foods use corn (a C 4 plant), or corn-fed livestock, as a primary ingredient, cats eating primarily pet food are expected to exhibit much higher δ 13 C values than those primarily eating native prey in forested areas, which tend to feed on C 3 plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High variability within pet foods prevents the identification of native species in pet cats’ diets using isotopic evaluation

McDonald

Perkins

Dunn

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Domestic cats preying on wildlife is a frequent conservation concern but typical approaches for assessing impacts rely on owner reports of prey returned home, which can be biased by inaccurate reporting or by cats consuming prey instead of bringing it home. Isotopes offer an alternative way to quantify broad differences in animal diets. By obtaining samples of pet food from cat owners we predicted that we would have high power to identify cats feeding on wild birds or mammals, given that pet food is thought to have higher C isotope values, due to the pervasive use of corn and/or corn by-products as food ingredients, than native prey. We worked with citizen scientists to quantify the isotopes of 202 cat hair samples and 239 pet food samples from the US and UK. We also characterized the isotopes of 11 likely native prey species from the southeastern US and used mixing models to assess the diet of 47 cats from the same region. Variation in C and N isotope values for cat food was very high, even within the same brand/flavor, suggesting that pet food manufacturers use a wide range of ingredients, and that these may change over time. Cat food and cat hair from the UK had lower C values than the US, presumably reflecting differences in the amount of corn used in the food chains of the two countries. This high variation in pet food reduced our ability to classify cats as hunters of native prey, such that only 43% of the animals could be confidently assigned. If feral or free ranging cats were considered, this uncertainty would be even higher as pet food types would be unknown. Our results question the general assumption that anthropogenic foods always have high C isotope values, because of the high variability we documented within one product type (cat food) and between countries (US vs. UK), and emphasize the need to test a variety of standards before making conclusions from isotope ecology studies. How to cite this article McDonald BW, Perkins T, Dunn RR, McDonald J, Cole H, Feranec RS, Kays R. 2020. High variability within pet foods prevents the identification of native species in pet cats' diets using isotopic evaluation. PeerJ 8:e8337 http://doi.Lindblad-Toh K. 2013. The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet. Nature 495(7441):360-364 . Caut S, Angulo E, Courchamp F. 2009. Variation in discrimination factors (δ15N and δ13C): the effect of diet isotopic values and applications for diet reconstruction.

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Stable Isotopes Trace the Truth: From Adulterated Foods to Crime Scenes

Cited by 25 publications

References 27 publications

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Where Does the Chilean Aconcagua River Come from? Use of Natural Tracers for Water Genesis Characterization in Glacial and Periglacial Environments

High variability within pet foods prevents the identification of native species in pet cats’ diets using isotopic evaluation

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