No description available.

A mass grave containing the remains of at least 3269 Napoleonic soldiers from 1812 was discovered in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2001. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses were performed on collagen from 78 femoral samples to explore dietary variation within the sample. Starvation and nutritional distress were also evaluated through the examination of nitrogen enrichment in bone collagen. Clinical studies have demonstrated that enriched nitrogen isotope values can indicate periods of nutritional stress and starvation; however, this is the first study to examine its use as a diagnostic indicator of starvation in a historical population using bone tissue. According to the carbon isotope data, a vast majority of the soldiers in this sample consumed predominantly C3 plants with only five individuals consuming more than 50% of their plant dietary protein in the form of C4 plants, with δ13C ratios for this sample ranging from -19.22‰ to -11.76‰ and a mean of -17.18‰. This conforms to expectations given that a majority of human plant consumption in Europe is C3 pathway plants. Twenty-nine individuals exhibit enriched δ15N values, with δ15N values for this sample ranging from 7.14‰ to 13.63‰ and a mean of 10.49‰. The combination of historical and isotopic evidence suggests prolonged nutritional stress may be the cause of enrichment in this sample. The results of this study demonstrate the applicability of this method on archaeological samples as a line of evidence in the investigation of starvation and famine.

Successful translocation of a listed species into an area of previous occupation requires knowledge of the habitat needs. The presence of the necessary food items is critical to the successful establishment of a new population; this information is unknown for Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris, the southeastern beach mouse, a threatened subspecies on the east coast of Florida. I used fecal and stable isotope analysis to determine the diet of this subspecies at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Brevard County, Florida, between the autumn of 2003 and the spring of 2005. Six trapping grids were established, three in the dune/swale and three in the coastal scrub communities. Fecal and hair samples were collected and analyzed. The diet varied in the amount of 13C consumed between habitats and in the amount of both 15N and 13C consumed among grids within a habitat. There was no significant interaction between habitat and sex in the amount of either 15N or 13C consumed, and sexes also did not differ significantly. Fecal analysis uncovered the dominance in the diet of C3 plants. My data refuted the current belief, that the southeastern beach mouse prefers beach grass seeds of C4 plants, which were consumed but not in the frequency or quantity expected. I also analyzed the diet of Peromyscus gossypinus, the cotton mouse, and Sigmodon hispidus, the hispid cotton rat, using the two techniques. Both species consumed a combination of plant and arthropod material. Their diets varied between dune/swale and coastal scrub habitats. All three species' diets were significantly different, with Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris and Peromyscus gossypinus being the most similar. Both consume a greater proportion of arthropod material compared to the hispid cotton rat. Interspecific competition between the southeastern beach mouse and the cotton mouse may occur in times of limited resources.

Forested streams are closely linked to terrestrial catchments which affects their biogeochemical cycling and carbon inputs. Catchment disturbances alter stream water quality and food webs, including changes in productivity. Such changes in stream conditions can potentially alter consumers’ reliance on autochthonous (in-stream) or allochthonous (terrestrial) sources and mercury bioaccumulation. A recent outbreak of the spruce budworm (SBW) that feeds on spruce and fir trees has provided the unique opportunity to examine stream food web responses across watersheds experiencing a range of defoliation in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec. This project compares streams in twelve watersheds which were selectively sprayed to control SBW and create a gradient in defoliation. Food web samples (food sources, invertebrates, fish) were analyzed for stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in 2019 and 2020 to characterize food web structure, and algal productivity was measured in 2019. Hierarchical partitioning models were used throughout the study to compare the contributions of various local and landscape conditions to stream responses. Models indicated that watershed defoliation contributed to increasing autochthonous production, although some invertebrates were more allochthonous in heavily defoliated watersheds, and brook diets were unaffected by defoliation. Next, food web samples were analyzed for methylmercury (food sources, invertebrates) or total mercury (fish) and trophic magnification slopes were determined for each stream food web. Mercury levels in carnivorous invertebrates and brook trout were driven by dissolved organic carbon (DOC), but not consumer autochthony or watershed defoliation. Additionally, rates of trophic magnification were not related to defoliation severity or DOC. This study found that defoliation contributed to increasing autochthonous production and invertebrate consumer allochthony. However, this disturbance did not increase consumer mercury levels or biomagnification in stream food webs. These findings suggest that intervention to reduce defoliation would mitigate algal responses and dietary shifts, but not mercury cycling as it is influenced by DOC levels in the streams of this region. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / A recent spruce budworm outbreak is causing widespread defoliation of spruce and fir trees, but the impacts to stream environments, including primary production, its consumption, and contaminant levels, are largely unknown. Streams are sensitive to conditions in the surrounding terrestrial environment, as such changes can affect the diets of stream invertebrates and fish and are also linked to increased contaminant levels in aquatic organisms. Specifically, mercury is a metal that is transferred through diet and can reach toxic levels in fish. This study found that defoliation is contributing to increased algal production in streams in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec. However, some stream invertebrates consumed more terrestrial material in streams that had heavier defoliation. Furthermore, defoliation and algal diets did not increase levels of mercury in aquatic organisms, but this contaminant was affected by increasing concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in the streams. These findings suggest that forest defoliation can alter organisms’ diets but not mercury levels.

This thesis examines breastfeeding, weaning, and the post-weaning diets of 18 adults (18y+) and two subadults (aged 10y – 14y) from the rural Imperial Roman (1st – 4th c. CE) site of Vagnari, located in southern Italy. The investigation used a new method to sample dentine sections that accounts for the oblique nature of dentine development and allowed for the assignment of age categories to diagenetically altered teeth without visible dentine lines. The results indicate Vagnari children were weaned by ~3.5y, and that some males appear to have been breastfed longer than females. Despite the similar ages-at-weaning across the sample, the individuals in this study demonstrated a variety of weaning rates (i.e., speeds or paces), post-weaning dietary trends, and changes in diet across the life course. Some individuals (n = 6) appear to have been weaned rapidly, marked by significant removal of breastmilk prior to 2.5y, with small amounts of breast milk remaining in the diet until ~3.5y. Other children (n = 9) were weaned gradually, with slow, consistent removal of breastmilk until as late as 5.0y. Throughout and after the weaning period, children were fed a diet based on C3 plants and terrestrial proteins such as wheat, goat/sheep, and their by-products. A comparison of early life dentine and adult bone collagen signals for 14 individuals revealed changes in diet with increasing age, in which most people had increased access to higher terrestrial food sources such as pork and/or small amounts of marine food later in life. However, there was notable variation in dietary trends and practices across the sample, suggesting diverse dietary patterns among people from Vagnari. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / In this thesis, I used samples from tooth dentine to analyze longitudinal stable isotope data for breastfeeding, weaning, and post-weaning dietary signals in a sample of 20 individuals from the Roman Imperial estate of Vagnari (1st – 4th c. CE) located in southern Italy. On average, children were weaned by ~3.5 years of age. Despite the similar age-at-weaning across the sample, individuals exhibited different weaning patterns and diversity in early life dietary practices at Vagnari. During and after weaning, the isotope data indicate that children were fed with C3 plants (e.g., wheat) and terrestrial proteins such as sheep/goat and pig. I analyzed childhood and adult diet by comparing dentine stable isotope data to bone collagen results from a sub-sample of 14 individuals. There was variability between the childhood dentine data and the adult bone collagen data, where individuals appeared to eat more pork and small amounts of fish later in life. This is the first study to explore breastfeeding and weaning practices of rural Roman children in southern Italy using stable isotope analysis of tooth dentine.

In rivers that shift in their natural or modified physical structure, it is expected that organisms alter their resource use with the shifts in physical changes. The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) is a modified river basin and stark contrasts in both the physical structure of habitat types and biological structure in the types of organisms present exist spatially. The upper reaches of the basin contain more complex habitat types than the lower reaches which suggests resource use of fishes likely differs at least between upper and lower reaches. To date, the resource use of some commercially important, invasive, and imperiled species has been studied. However, little information regarding resource use exists for most native fishes. Understanding resource use and how it differs across time and space would benefit managers of the UMRS as programs are underway to restore and manage the system. To determine how resource use of native fishes differs spatially and temporally in the UMRS, I quantified resource use of ten native fishes across six reaches of the UMRS using multiple techniques. At the largest spatial and temporal scale, I quantified the natal origins of six prey and two predatory fishes using trace element analysis. At a seasonal scale, I quantified the collective resource use of eight species using carbon and nitrogen isotopes to compare isotopic niche space, niche overlap, and community metrics. At the shortest scale, I quantified the diets of two predatory species that are thought to compete with one another. Both large scale similarities and nuances in resource use existed in the UMRS depending on the spatial and temporal contexts. At the longest scale, fishes consistently used network connectivity as tributaries and other mainstem river reaches contributed recruits to the mainstem river. However, the percentage of individuals resulting from network connectivity and the specific rivers that lent the recruits differed among species and reaches. Particularly, large tributaries like the Minnesota and Missouri rivers contributed relatively high numbers of recruits to nearby reaches compared to other tributaries, and the most downstream reaches had the greatest contributions from network connectivity. Prey fishes recruited more often from tributaries than predators whereas consumed prey and prey collected directly from the UMRS had similar origins which were consistent across years. At a seasonal scale, breadth of resource use of individual species and the assemblage and some community metrics increased whereas overlap decreased moving downstream in the UMRS. This shift in resource use metrics coincides with shifts in the physical structure of the system. At the shortest scale, diet compositions of the two predators were similar to one another and spatially among upper reaches in the UMRS. These two predators likely coexist in part due to diet plasticity and prey size allocations that differ between species. Additionally, the relative physical homogeneity of the upper reaches of the UMRS may have led to the spatial similarity in prey use. Together, these results suggest the physical structure of the system impacted the resource use of fishes, where trophic niches and use of network connectivity shifted with the shift in physical structure of the Mississippi River. At a minimum, spatial gradients in isotopic niches and percentage of individuals coming from network connectivity suggest the resource use of fishes in downstream reaches at seasonal and life-long scales differs from the upstream reaches within this system. These differences could stem from longitudinal or functional process zone shifts in the physical structure which cannot be determined given these data. In the context of management of the system, fishes use network connectivity to at least some degree across all species and sampling reaches, indicating that the connectivity in the system should at least be maintained if not improved. Additionally, fish move among reaches (i.e., through lock and dams) and tributaries, which highlights the need for interjurisdictional management not just in the UMRS but in nearby tributary systems like the Minnesota and Missouri River where fish originated.

Khirbet Summeily is an early Iron Age II site located northwest of Tell el-Hesi in Southern Israel. Excavations sponsored by the Cobb Institute of Archaeology have revealed a large structure with a potential ritual space dated to the Iron Age IIA (ca. 1000-980/850 B.C.E.). Recent interpretations suggest the site was integrated into a regional economic and political system and functioned as a potential administrative outpost based on the material culture and architecture recovered from the Iron Age IIA layers. This thesis presents the carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopic analyses of intra-tooth samples from ovicaprine and cattle remains to test herd management strategies in connection to administrative and cultic provisioning activities. The animal remains are used as proxies to identify political and economic ties through herd management patterns. These results will test the hypothesis that Khirbet Summeily was an administrative outpost integrated into a larger political and/or economic network.

No description available.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第23943号 / 農博第2492号 / 新制||農||1090(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R4||N5378(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 神﨑 護, 教授 北島 薫, 教授 舘野 隆之輔 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

The thesis is compilation of four manuscripts discussing the stable isotope analysis modem and archaeological faunal material from Namu, British Columbia. These studies concentrate on the application of stable isotopic analysis of biogenic material for paleonvironmental interpretation over the Holocene. The first study addresses the use of phosphate and carbonate associated oxygen isotopes in bioapatites (Sebastes spp. vertebrae) as a proxy for the isotopic composition of water from approximently 6,000 to 2,000 years before present (BP). The second study evaluates sclerochronological sampling strategies as applicable to the study of bivalves with implications for sampling fragmented material such as that found in archaeological deposits. The third study investigates stable isotopes composition of estuarine bivalve carbonate (Saxidomus gigantea) and the controlling environmental and biological factors. Finally, the fourth study uses a 5,000 year record of archaeological S. gigantea to provide a paleoclimatic record at Namu over the mid-late Holocene. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)