Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) presents an interesting case study of climate related dispersal and extinction. While (limited) fossil records confirm its presence in the Atlantic up until the 18th Century, its abundance and distribution within the Eastern and Western basins are stil...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2019-02-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/6381.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797420269496696832 |
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| author | Ervan G. Garrison Gary S. Morgan Krista McGrath Camilla Speller Alexander Cherkinsky |
| author_facet | Ervan G. Garrison Gary S. Morgan Krista McGrath Camilla Speller Alexander Cherkinsky |
| author_sort | Ervan G. Garrison |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Atlantic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) presents an interesting case study of climate related dispersal and extinction. While (limited) fossil records confirm its presence in the Atlantic up until the 18th Century, its abundance and distribution within the Eastern and Western basins are still not well understood. The discovery of presumed gray whale fossil remains from the Georgia Bight and the Atlantic coast of Florida, from the mid-1980s to late-2000s, provides a new opportunity to recover additional data regarding their chronology within the Western basin. Here, we apply accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon techniques to six fossil whale finds, identifying dates within marine isotope stage 3 (59–24 ka) and the late Holocene, ∼2,000 yr BP. We additionally confirm the taxonomic identification of two fossil bone samples as E. robustus using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS). The obtained dates, when combined with a larger corpus of previously published Atlantic gray whale fossil dates, support the hypothesis for the decline of the Atlantic gray whale in the late Pleistocene and the late Holocene. These new data augment the findings of the Eastern Atlantic Basin and better incorporate the Western Atlantic Basin into a pan-ocean understanding for the species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:59:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7bd9ccd5426f41828d0a517269f82664 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:59:10Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-7bd9ccd5426f41828d0a517269f826642023-12-03T09:55:57ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-02-017e638110.7717/peerj.6381Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic OceanErvan G. Garrison0Gary S. Morgan1Krista McGrath2Camilla Speller3Alexander Cherkinsky4Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USANew Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, Albuquerque, NM, USAUniversity of York, BioArch Centre, York, UKUniversity of York, BioArch Centre, York, UKCenter for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USAThe Atlantic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) presents an interesting case study of climate related dispersal and extinction. While (limited) fossil records confirm its presence in the Atlantic up until the 18th Century, its abundance and distribution within the Eastern and Western basins are still not well understood. The discovery of presumed gray whale fossil remains from the Georgia Bight and the Atlantic coast of Florida, from the mid-1980s to late-2000s, provides a new opportunity to recover additional data regarding their chronology within the Western basin. Here, we apply accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon techniques to six fossil whale finds, identifying dates within marine isotope stage 3 (59–24 ka) and the late Holocene, ∼2,000 yr BP. We additionally confirm the taxonomic identification of two fossil bone samples as E. robustus using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS). The obtained dates, when combined with a larger corpus of previously published Atlantic gray whale fossil dates, support the hypothesis for the decline of the Atlantic gray whale in the late Pleistocene and the late Holocene. These new data augment the findings of the Eastern Atlantic Basin and better incorporate the Western Atlantic Basin into a pan-ocean understanding for the species.https://peerj.com/articles/6381.pdfWestern Atlantic basinZooMSRadiocarbon datingPaleontologyStable isotopesGray whale |
| spellingShingle | Ervan G. Garrison Gary S. Morgan Krista McGrath Camilla Speller Alexander Cherkinsky Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean PeerJ Western Atlantic basin ZooMS Radiocarbon dating Paleontology Stable isotopes Gray whale |
| title | Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean |
| title_full | Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean |
| title_fullStr | Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean |
| title_short | Recent dating of extinct Atlantic gray whale fossils, (Eschrichtius robustus), Georgia Bight and Florida, western Atlantic Ocean |
| title_sort | recent dating of extinct atlantic gray whale fossils eschrichtius robustus georgia bight and florida western atlantic ocean |
| topic | Western Atlantic basin ZooMS Radiocarbon dating Paleontology Stable isotopes Gray whale |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/6381.pdf |
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