Tooth enamel nitrogen isotope composition records trophic position : a tool for reconstructing food webs
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Abstract
Nitrogen isotopes are widely used to study the trophic position of animals in modern food
webs; however, their application in the fossil record is severely limited by degradation of
organic material during fossilization. In this study, we show that the nitrogen isotope com position of organic matter preserved in mammalian tooth enamel (δ15Nenamel) records diet
and trophic position. The δ15Nenamel of modern African mammals shows a 3.7‰ increase
between herbivores and carnivores as expected from trophic enrichment, and there is a
strong positive correlation between δ15Nenamel and δ15Nbone-collagen values from the same
individuals. Additionally, δ15Nenamel values of Late Pleistocene fossil teeth preserve diet and
trophic level information, despite complete diagenetic loss of collagen in the same specimens.
We demonstrate that δ15Nenamel represents a powerful geochemical proxy for diet that is
applicable to fossils and can help delineate major dietary transitions in ancient vertebrate
lineages.
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Communications biology, 6, Springer Nature, London, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04744-y