The turnover of dental microwear texture: Testing the” last supper” effect in small mammals in a controlled feeding experiment

Winkler, Daniela; Schulz‐Kornas, Ellen; Kaiser, Thomas M.; Codron, Daryl; Leichliter, Jennifer; Hummel, Jürgen; Martin, Louise F.; Clauss, Marcus; Tütken, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109930

Cited by 48 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…For example, data of grazing and browsing ungulates show very similar patterns for height ( Sa , Smc , Sq , Sxp ) and volume parameters ( Vmc , Vv , Vvc ) and [60] and Winkler et al . [21,61] reported DMTA parameters according to functional categories, implying correlation of parameters within these categories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With regard to microwear and DMTA, the native, unworn tooth is the implicit default state; nevertheless, the unworn surface does not need to be completely smooth, it can be morphologically structured due to its composition (enamel crystallite orientation, Hunter–Schreger bands, dentine tubuli, protein matrices) [19,20]. At microscopic levels, changes occur within days or weeks [21], and whether traces represent tissue loss or tissue deformation is still debated [22]. New formation of microscopic wear traces occurs perpetually [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep ( Ovis aries )

Ackermans

Winkler

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Dietary reconstruction in vertebrates often relies on dental wear-based proxies. Although these proxies are widely applied, the contributions of physical and mechanical processes leading to meso- and microwear are still unclear. We tested their correlation using sheep ( Ovis aries , n = 39) fed diets of varying abrasiveness for 17 months as a model. Volumetric crown tissue loss, mesowear change and dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) were all applied to the same teeth. We hereby correlate: (i) 46 DMTA parameters with each other, for the maxillary molars (M1, M2, M3), and the second mandibular molar (m2); (ii) 10 mesowear variables to each other and to DMTA for M1, M2, M3 and m2; and (iii) volumetric crown tissue loss to mesowear and DMTA for M2. As expected, many DMTA parameters correlated strongly with each other, supporting the application of reduced parameter sets in future studies. Correlation results showed only few DMTA parameters correlated with volumetric tissue change and even less so with mesowear variables, with no correlation between mesowear and volumetric tissue change. These findings caution against interpreting DMTA and mesowear patterns in terms of actual tissue removal until these dental wear processes can be better understood at microscopic and macroscopic levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep ( Ovis aries )

Ackermans

Winkler

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…All animals were provided with their designated diet from the first day onward; the pelleted compound diet provided by the animal breeder was phased out during a 5-d acclimatization period, after which the animals were maintained solely on their designated diets for 28 to 35 d. Due to logistics of scheduling, the termination took place over 7 d. The duration is sufficient to form diet-specific microwear texture (20). During this time, feces were collected from each individual animal for a 3-d period in a metabolic cage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shape, size, and quantity of ingested external abrasives influence dental microwear texture formation in guinea pigs

Winkler

Tütken

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2020

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

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Food processing wears down teeth, thus affecting tooth functionality and evolutionary success. Other than intrinsic silica phytoliths, extrinsic mineral dust/grit adhering to plants causes tooth wear in mammalian herbivores. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is widely applied to infer diet from microscopic dental wear traces. The relationship between external abrasives and dental microwear texture (DMT) formation remains elusive. Feeding experiments with sheep have shown negligible effects of dust-laden grass and browse, suggesting that intrinsic properties of plants are more important. Here, we explore the effect of clay- to sand-sized mineral abrasives (quartz, volcanic ash, loess, kaolin) on DMT in a controlled feeding experiment with guinea pigs. By adding 1, 4, 5, or 8% mineral abrasives to a pelleted base diet, we test for the effect of particle size, shape, and amount on DMT. Wear by fine-grained quartz (>5/<50 µm), loess, and kaolin is not significantly different from the abrasive-free control diet. Fine silt-sized quartz (∼5 µm) results in higher surface anisotropy and lower roughness (polishing effect). Coarse-grained volcanic ash leads to significantly higher complexity, while fine sands (130 to 166 µm) result in significantly higher roughness. Complexity and roughness values exceed those from feeding experiments with guinea pigs who received plants with different phytolith content. Our results highlight that large (>95-µm) external silicate abrasives lead to distinct microscopic wear with higher roughness and complexity than caused by mineral abrasive-free herbivorous diets. Hence, high loads of mineral dust and grit in natural diets might be identified by DMTA, also in the fossil record.

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“…The horses' diet in each site was studied using dental mesowear and microwear analysis. These two techniques provide information about the diet on two different timescales: mesowear indicates the average diet during the individual's life or its last months or years [82,83], and microwear reveals the diet of the last few days to months of an animal's life [84][85][86][87][88]. Combined together, these two methods allow us to understand the evolution of the animal's diet in relation to seasonal variations over a period of several months.…”

Section: Mesowear and Microwear Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between body mass, morphometrical skeleton features, and dietary habits can be difficult to establish, as they do not necessarily correspond to the same time span. Indeed, microwear analysis displays information about the final days to months of life [85][86][87][88], and mesowear indicates a general or monthly dietary signal [82,83]. The importance of phenotypic plasticity, and the rate of body adaptation, is largely unknown and may depend on the living condition of each cohort.…”

Section: Relations Between Horse Dietary Habits Body Mass and Morphometrical Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Pleistocene Variations in the Diet of Equus in the South of France and Its Morphometric Adaptations to Local Environments

Uzunidis

2021

Quaternary

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Equus is a very sensitive genus which has expanded over a large area and lived in Europe despite the climatic instability of the Pleistocene. Its persistence and abundance are helpful in understanding and describing environmental and climatic regional parameters. In this study, we present the result of dental mesowear and microwear analysis and post-cranial skeleton biometry on Equus populations located in two regions in the South of France from ten sites, corresponding to twelve assemblages dated from MIS 12 to MIS 5. The areas refer to two major climatic zones: the oceanic or subcontinental climate for the South West of France, and the Mediterranean for the South East. The first objective of this study is to integrate and compare biometric data, dental wear, and other already-published environmental proxies. The goal is to discuss the validity of horse body shape adaptations on a small geographical scale. The second objective is to describe the impact of environmental features on the horse population through time in the two regions. We observe that the Equus diet was quite diverse, according to microwear analysis which shows adaptations according to seasonal variations. However, they remained mostly grazers over a long period of time. Estimated body mass of Equus in the localities studied here varies from a mean of 468 up to a mean of 570 kg, but these variations failed to be correlated with the diet, the climatic period, or the geographical position of the horse population, probably because of the sample size or the restricted time-span or geographical scale. However, the conformation of the metapodials and the width of the third phalanges may have been linked with environmental and behavioural parameters. The width of the third phalange may be correlated with the recurrence of the snow cover, while the robustness of the metapodial co-occurs with a humid climate. Also, diet may influence the conformation of the bones, since the tall and slender horses seem to be preferentially grazers all year long and seasonally browser horses are tall and robust. Seasonally mixed-feeder horses, all coming from the Mediterranean area, were found to be smaller, perhaps in relation to a less productive environment. The correspondence of the dietary and morphometrical data could suggest high pressure on the horse population, which caused rapid body adaptation. Thus, the combination of these different proxies allows us to suggest more accurate large mammal paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

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The turnover of dental microwear texture: Testing the” last supper” effect in small mammals in a controlled feeding experiment

Cited by 48 publications

References 54 publications

Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep ( Ovis aries )

Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep ( Ovis aries )

Shape, size, and quantity of ingested external abrasives influence dental microwear texture formation in guinea pigs

Middle Pleistocene Variations in the Diet of Equus in the South of France and Its Morphometric Adaptations to Local Environments

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