Nitrogen isotopic ecology in southern Africa: Implications for environmental and dietary tracing

Details Nitrogen isotopic ecology in southern Africa: Implications for environmental and dietary tracing Nitrogen isotopic ecology in southern Africa: Implications for environmental and dietary tracing

Oct 1987

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1987gecoa..51.2707s&link_type=abstract

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, vol. 51, Issue 10, pp.2707-2717

Computer Science

8

Scientific paper

In order to establish baseline nitrogen isotope data for certain African ecosystems, we have measured the 15 N / 14 N of some 300 marine and terrestrial organisms. The majority of these specimens come from the southwestern Cape, and were chosen to represent a cross-section of the foods important in prehistoric diets in the region. 15 N analyses of 78 Holocene human skeletons from the same area are interpreted in the light of these results. Additional terrestrial animal samples were collected from the northern and eastern Cape and from Botswana and Malawi. They represent a wide range of climatic and environmental zones, from semi-desert to sub-tropical swamps. The patterning in the values for marine organisms is consistent with previously published data; that for terrestrial organisms, however, is more complex than recent studies have indicated. Our data confirm the proposal that animal 15 N values vary with rainfall: high 15 N values for herbivores occur in areas receiving less than 400 mm of rain per annum. We critically examine a recently proposed model explaining this phenomenon, and suggest some additional mechanisms which should be considered. In such arid areas, nitrogen isotope ratios cannot be used as marine / terrestrial indicators, but may provide some indication of the trophic level of the food consumed. Dietary studies on human populations can only be undertaken with a thorough appreciation of the isotopic ecology of the relevant foodweb.

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