Nitrogen isotopes in tooth enamel record diet and trophic level enrichment: Results from a controlled feeding experiment

Leichliter, Jennifer; Lüdecke, Tina; Foreman, Alan; Duprey, Nicolas; Winkler, Daniela; Kast, E.; Vonhof, Hubert; Sigman, Daniel M.; Haug, Gerald H.; Clauss, Marcus; Tütken, Thomas; Martínez‐García, Alfredo

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.120047

Cited by 35 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…S2, S3). O. megalodon”, have a higher N content relative to the other fossil enameloid samples, not a surprising finding given previous observations of species-specific differences in biomineral-bound N content [e.g., in foraminifera ( 40 ), fish otoliths ( 41 ), and tooth enamel ( 19 )]. The lower N content of some fossil samples may suggest loss of organic matter from the enameloid matrix.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…The method relies on technical advances in the isotopic measurement of nanomole quantities of nitrogen (N), specifically the coupled oxidation-denitrifier method (17)(18)(19), which is necessary to measure the isotopic composition of the very low concentration of enamel(oid)bound organic matter. Recent analyses have shown that, similar to other tissues, the  15 N of modern terrestrial mammal tooth enamel organic matter records diet and trophic level enrichment (19). In contrast to other fossil types, the apatite mineral of enamel(oid) is resistant to alteration (11,20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

et al. 2022

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Trophic position is a fundamental characteristic of animals, yet it is unknown in many extinct species. In this study, we ground-truth the 15 N/ 14 N ratio of enameloid-bound organic matter (δ 15 N EB ) as a trophic level proxy by comparison to dentin collagen δ 15 N and apply this method to the fossil record to reconstruct the trophic level of the megatooth sharks (genus Otodus ). These sharks evolved in the Cenozoic, culminating in Otodus megalodon , a shark with a maximum body size of more than 15 m, which went extinct 3.5 million years ago. Very high δ 15 N EB values (22.9 ± 4.4‰) of O. megalodon from the Miocene and Pliocene show that it occupied a higher trophic level than is known for any marine species, extinct or extant. δ 15 N EB also indicates a dietary shift in sharks of the megatooth lineage as they evolved toward the gigantic O. megalodon , with the highest trophic level apparently reached earlier than peak size.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

et al. 2022

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“…Reconstructing trophic levels via nitrogen isotopes after Ostrom et al (1993) seems ideal, but collagen in bone is easily contaminated and enamel preserves only small amounts of protein (Hollund et al, 2015). Leichliter et al (2020a) display a promising preliminary replication of Ostrom et al (1993)'s results using oxidation-denitrification methods (Leichliter et al, 2020b) to extract nitrogen from enamel more efficiently. Because these results are still preliminary, we recommend that nitrogen isotope studies of bird fossils use specimens that are incomplete or otherwise of low scientific value so that priceless fossils are not damaged unnecessarily.…”

Section: (4) Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2020 a ) display a promising preliminary replication of Ostrom et al . (1993)'s results using oxidation‐denitrification methods (Leichliter et al ., 2020 b ) to extract nitrogen from enamel more efficiently. Because these results are still preliminary, we recommend that nitrogen isotope studies of bird fossils use specimens that are incomplete or otherwise of low scientific value so that priceless fossils are not damaged unnecessarily.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The diet of early birds based on modern and fossil evidence and a new framework for its reconstruction

Miller

Pittman

2021

Biological Reviews

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Birds are some of the most diverse organisms on Earth, with species inhabiting a wide variety of niches across every major biome. As such, birds are vital to our understanding of modern ecosystems. Unfortunately, our understanding of the evolutionary history of modern ecosystems is hampered by knowledge gaps in the origin of modern bird diversity and ecosystem ecology. A crucial part of addressing these shortcomings is improving our understanding of the earliest birds, the non-avian avialans (i.e. non-crown birds), particularly of their diet. The diet of non-avian avialans has been a matter of debate, in large part because of the ambiguous qualitative approaches that have been used to reconstruct it. Here we review methods for determining diet in modern and fossil avians (i.e. crown birds) as well as non-avian theropods, and comment on their usefulness when applied to non-avian avialans. We use this to propose a set of comparable, quantitative approaches to ascertain fossil bird diet and on this basis provide a consensus of what we currently know about fossil bird diet. While no single approach can precisely predict diet in birds, each can exclude some diets and narrow the dietary possibilities. We recommend combining (i) dental microwear, (ii) landmark-based muscular reconstruction, (iii) stable isotope geochemistry, (iv) body mass estimations, (v) traditional and/or geometric morphometric analysis, (vi) lever modelling, and (vii) finite element analysis to reconstruct fossil bird diet accurately. Our review provides specific methodologies to implement each approach and discusses complications future researchers should keep in mind. We note that current forms of assessment of dental mesowear, skull traditional morphometrics, geometric morphometrics, and certain stable isotope systems have yet to be proven effective at discerning fossil bird diet. On this basis we report the current state of knowledge of non-avian avialan diet which remains very incomplete. The ancestral dietary condition in non-avian avialans remains unclear due to scarce data and contradictory evidence in Archaeopteryx. Among early non-avian pygostylians, Confuciusornis has finite element analysis and mechanical advantage evidence pointing to herbivory, whilst Sapeornis only has mechanical advantage evidence indicating granivory, agreeing with fossilised ingested material known for this taxon. The enantiornithine ornithothoracine Shenqiornis has mechanical advantage and pedal morphometric evidence pointing to carnivory. In the hongshanornithid ornithuromorph Hongshanornis only mechanical advantage evidence indicates granivory, but this agrees with evidence of gastrolith ingestion in this taxon. Mechanical advantage and ingested fish support carnivory in the songlingornithid ornithuromorph Yanornis. Due to the sparsity of robust dietary assignments, no clear trends in non-avian avialan dietary evolution have yet emerged. Dietary diversity seems to increase through time, but this is a preservational bias associated with a predominance of data fro...

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“…The isotopic toolkit available for paleoecological research is expanding with continual improvement in analytical methods. New methods now permit the measurement of nontraditional isotopes in fossil bioapatite such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc (e.g., Martin et al, 2015;Jaouen et al, 2016;Martin et al, 2017aMartin et al, , 2017bHassler et al, 2018;Bourgon et al, 2020;Tacail et al, 2020), or light isotopes, such as nitrogen (Ostrom et al, 1993), that can be preserved in tooth enamel (Leichliter et al, 2020). With regards to transition metals, the choice of the isotopic proxy to be used remains dictated by its concentration in fossil bioapatite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The stability of dinosaur communities before the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary: A perspective from southern Alberta using calcium isotopes as a dietary proxy

et al. 2022

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Reconstructing dinosaur trophic structure prior to the Cretaceous−Paleogene (K−Pg) boundary may provide information about ecosystem organization and evolution. Using calcium isotopes, we investigate preserved biogenic isotope compositions in a set of dinosaur teeth from three continental formations from Alberta, Canada, to assess latest Cretaceous food web structure. Tooth enamel δ44/42Ca values are presented for tyrannosaurids (n = 34) and potential large herbivorous prey (n = 42) in the upper Campanian Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation, uppermost Campanian−Maastrichtian Horseshoe Canyon Formation, and upper Maastrichtian−lower Paleocene Scollard Formation, spanning the last ∼10 m.y. of the Cretaceous. The influence of diagenesis is assessed in a subset sample through major and trace elemental concentrations and ultraviolet (UV) Raman spectra, which provides a framework for interpreting calcium isotope values. In the Dinosaur Park Formation, hadrosaurid δ44/42Ca values are systematically heavier than ceratopsid values, a difference that is interpreted to reflect niche partitioning among megaherbivores. Tyrannosaurid δ44/42Ca values are scattered but on average, they are 44Ca-depleted relative to herbivorous dinosaurs in all three formations. As interpreted from the Dinosaur Park data set, tyrannosaurids may have preferentially fed on hadrosaurids. These analyses offer possibilities for testing whether trophic structure among non-avian dinosaur ecosystems changed several millions of years prior to the K−Pg boundary.

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Nitrogen isotopes in tooth enamel record diet and trophic level enrichment: Results from a controlled feeding experiment

Cited by 35 publications

References 136 publications

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

The diet of early birds based on modern and fossil evidence and a new framework for its reconstruction

The stability of dinosaur communities before the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary: A perspective from southern Alberta using calcium isotopes as a dietary proxy

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