Diets of Southern African Bovidae: Stable Isotope Evidence

Sponheimer, Matt; Lee‐Thorp, Julia A.; DeRuiter, Darryl J.; Smith, Jeanette M.; Merwe, Nikolaas J. van der; Reed, Kaye E.; Grant, C.C.; Ayliffe, Linda K.; Robinson, Todd; Heidelberger, Cory Allen; Marcus, Warren D.

doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084<0471:dosabs>2.0.co;2

Cited by 226 publications

(176 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…6, 8, and 31). Compared with modern taxa with a similar sample size, the range and SD for K. platyops is broad and large, respectively (14,32). The δ 13 C values for the 18 K. platyops individuals are normally distributed, One specimen has been assigned to Homo sp.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10 kg (e.g., dik-dik and other neotragines) tend to be browsers and have C 3 -based diets (14,32), whereas large herbivores can have diets that are C 3 -based (browsers such as most tragelephines, black rhinos, and giraffes), C 4 -based (grazers such as warthogs, zebra, alcelaphines, reducines, and bovines), or mixed (e.g., impala, and some gazelles). Thus, the size of prey may be important in considering possible secondary diet C 3 or C 4 resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins

Cerling

Manthi

Mbua

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

184

178

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Hominin fossil evidence in the Turkana Basin in Kenya from ca . 4.1 to 1.4 Ma samples two archaic early hominin genera and records some of the early evolutionary history of Paranthropus and Homo . Stable carbon isotopes in fossil tooth enamel are used to estimate the fraction of diet derived from C 3 or C 4 resources in these hominin taxa. The earliest hominin species in the Turkana Basin, Australopithecus anamensis , derived nearly all of its diet from C 3 resources. Subsequently, by ca . 3.3 Ma, the later Kenyanthropus platyops had a very wide dietary range—from virtually a purely C 3 resource-based diet to one dominated by C 4 resources. By ca . 2 Ma, hominins in the Turkana Basin had split into two distinct groups: specimens attributable to the genus Homo provide evidence for a diet with a ca . 65/35 ratio of C 3 - to C 4 -based resources, whereas P. boisei had a higher fraction of C 4 -based diet ( ca . 25/75 ratio). Homo sp. increased the fraction of C 4 -based resources in the diet through ca . 1.5 Ma, whereas P. boisei maintained its high dependency on C 4 -derived resources.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins

Cerling

Manthi

Mbua

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

184

178

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“…Stable isotope ratios of 13 C/ 12 C are ideally suited to test this hypothesis because of the difference in isotope ratios between C 3 plants (most dicots) and C 4 plants (grasses and sedges, both of which are monocots) in the tropics; the dietary distinction between C 3 and C 4 plant-derived foods is preserved in the fossil record of Africa for most of the past 10 Ma (14,15). The δ 13 C values of tooth enamel from modern and fossil browsers are about −12‰ in open forests through grasslands, whereas grazers have δ 13 C values near 2‰, and mixed feeders have intermediate values (16)(17)(18)(19). We note that mammals from closed canopy forests are even more depleted in 13 C than those mammals from open forests (20).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of Theropithecus from 4 to 1 Ma in Kenya

Cerling

Chritz

Jablonski

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Theropithecus was a common large-bodied primate that cooccurred with hominins in many Plio-Pleistocene deposits in East and South Africa. Stable isotope analyses of tooth enamel from T. brumpti (4.0-2.5 Ma) and T. oswaldi (2.0-1.0 Ma) in Kenya show that the earliest Theropithecus at 4 Ma had a diet dominated by C 4 resources. Progressively, this genus increased the proportion of C 4 -derived resources in its diet and by 1.0 Ma, had a diet that was nearly 100% C 4 -derived. It is likely that this diet was comprised of grasses or sedges; stable isotopes cannot, by themselves, give an indication of the relative importance of leaves, seeds, or underground storage organs to the diet of this primate. Theropithecus throughout the 4-to 1-Ma time range has a diet that is more C 4 -based than contemporaneous hominins of the genera Australopithecus, Kenyanthropus, and Homo; however, Theropithecus and Paranthropus have similar proportions of C 4 -based resources in their respective diets.

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“…Yet that review was hindered by the nature of the available literature which, because of the variety of methodologies employed by researchers in the field, and the fact that most published studies are isolated in space and time (Owen-Smith 1988, 1997, comprised data that are not necessarily comparable. More recently, stable carbon isotope studies (yielding data that are more comparable across geographical and temporal boundaries) revealed differences for several species not only when compared with predictions from the literature, but also between southern and East African populations (Cerling et al 2003;Sponheimer et al 2003a;Codron et al 2007a). These findings imply that diets of many species are habitat-specific, and that global averages -as often used in comparative evolutionary and ecological studies (Clauss 2008;Codron & Clauss 2010) -may be of limited value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Research on diet composition and diet quality has revealed that coexistence is achieved primarily through resource partitioning, in particular the separation of dietary niches along a browser/grazer continuum, with three guilds typically recognized: browsers, grazers and mixed-feeders (Hofmann & Stewart 1972;Jarman 1974;Owen-Smith 1997;du Toit 2003;Clauss 2008). Recent reviews and evidence from stable carbon isotopes have, however, reached dissimilar conclusions regarding the diets of many species, and differ in their respective interpretations of the heuristic value of the browser/grazer classification scheme (Gagnon & Chew 2000;Sponheimer et al 2003a;Cerling et al 2003;Codron et al 2007a). One source of this confusion is the vast and often contradictory literature on bovid feeding ecology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis of the Diets of West African Bovids in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Northern Benin

Djagoun

Codron

Sealy

et al. 2013

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

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Bovid diets have been studied for decades, but debate still exists about the diets of many species, in part because of geographical or habitat-related dietary variations. In this study we used stable carbon isotope analyses of faeces to explore the seasonal dietary preferences of 11 bovid species from a West African savanna, the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (PBR), along the browser/grazer (or C3/C4) continuum.We compare our carbon isotope values with those for eastern and southern African bovids, as well as with dietary predictions based on continent-wide averages derived from field studies. Oribi and reedbuck, expected to be grazers were found to be predominantly C3-feeders (browsers) in the PBR. Bushbuck, common duiker and red-flanked duiker consumed more C4 grass than reported in previous studies. When comparing wet and dry season diets, kob, roan and oribi showed the least variation in C3 and C4 plant consumed proportions, while red-flanked duiker, bushbuck, reedbuck and waterbuck showed the most marked shifts. This study shows that animals in the better studied eastern and southern African savannas do not exhibit the full range of possible dietary adaptations. Inclusion of data from a wider geographical area to include less well-studied regions will inform our overall picture of bovid dietary ecology. Bovid diets have been studied for decades, but debate still exists about the diets of many species, in part because of geographical or habitat-related dietary variations. In this study we used stable carbon isotope analyses of faeces to explore the seasonal dietary preferences of 11 bovid species from a West African savanna, the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (PBR), along the browser/grazer (or C 3 /C 4 ) continuum. We compare our carbon isotope values with those for eastern and southern African bovids, as well as with dietary predictions based on continent-wide averages derived from field studies. Oribi and reedbuck, expected to be grazers were found to be predominantly C 3 -feeders (browsers) in the PBR. Bushbuck, common duiker and red-flanked duiker consumed more C 4 grass than reported in previous studies. When comparing wet and dry season diets, kob, roan and oribi showed the least variation in C 3 and C 4 plant consumed proportions, while red-flanked duiker, bushbuck, reedbuck and waterbuck showed the most marked shifts. This study shows that animals in the betterstudied eastern and southern African savannas do not exhibit the full range of possible dietary adaptations. Inclusion of data from a wider geographical area to include less well-studied regions will inform our overall picture of bovid dietary ecology.

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Diets of Southern African Bovidae: Stable Isotope Evidence

Cited by 226 publications

References 41 publications

Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins

Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins

Diet of Theropithecus from 4 to 1 Ma in Kenya

Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis of the Diets of West African Bovids in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Northern Benin

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