Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats.
Stable isotope analyses of bone collagen are often used in palaeoecological studies to reveal environmental conditions in the habitats of different herbivore species. However, such studies require valuable reference data, obtained from analyses of modern individuals, in habitats of well-known condit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255398 |
| _version_ | 1819195200493322240 |
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| author | Maciej Sykut Sławomira Pawełczyk Tomasz Borowik Boštjan Pokorny Katarina Flajšman Tjibbe Hunink Magdalena Niedziałkowska |
| author_facet | Maciej Sykut Sławomira Pawełczyk Tomasz Borowik Boštjan Pokorny Katarina Flajšman Tjibbe Hunink Magdalena Niedziałkowska |
| author_sort | Maciej Sykut |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stable isotope analyses of bone collagen are often used in palaeoecological studies to reveal environmental conditions in the habitats of different herbivore species. However, such studies require valuable reference data, obtained from analyses of modern individuals, in habitats of well-known conditions. In this article, we present the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bone collagen from modern red deer (N = 242 individuals) dwelling in various habitats (N = 15 study sites) in Europe. We investigated which of the selected climatic and environmental factors affected the δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen of the studied specimens. Among all analyzed factors, the percent of forest cover influenced the carbon isotopic composition most significantly, and decreasing forest cover caused an increase in δ13C values. The δ15N was positively related to the proportion of open area and (only in the coastal areas) negatively related to the distance to the seashore. Using rigorous statistical methods and a large number of samples, we confirmed that δ13C and δ15N values can be used as a proxy of past habitats of red deer. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T02:08:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-899c3b10e495459b919f92e46d86e0e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T02:08:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-899c3b10e495459b919f92e46d86e0e92022-12-21T18:03:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01168e025539810.1371/journal.pone.0255398Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats.Maciej SykutSławomira PawełczykTomasz BorowikBoštjan PokornyKatarina FlajšmanTjibbe HuninkMagdalena NiedziałkowskaStable isotope analyses of bone collagen are often used in palaeoecological studies to reveal environmental conditions in the habitats of different herbivore species. However, such studies require valuable reference data, obtained from analyses of modern individuals, in habitats of well-known conditions. In this article, we present the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bone collagen from modern red deer (N = 242 individuals) dwelling in various habitats (N = 15 study sites) in Europe. We investigated which of the selected climatic and environmental factors affected the δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen of the studied specimens. Among all analyzed factors, the percent of forest cover influenced the carbon isotopic composition most significantly, and decreasing forest cover caused an increase in δ13C values. The δ15N was positively related to the proportion of open area and (only in the coastal areas) negatively related to the distance to the seashore. Using rigorous statistical methods and a large number of samples, we confirmed that δ13C and δ15N values can be used as a proxy of past habitats of red deer.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255398 |
| spellingShingle | Maciej Sykut Sławomira Pawełczyk Tomasz Borowik Boštjan Pokorny Katarina Flajšman Tjibbe Hunink Magdalena Niedziałkowska Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. PLoS ONE |
| title | Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. |
| title_full | Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. |
| title_fullStr | Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. |
| title_short | Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats. |
| title_sort | environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer cervus elaphus inhabiting various habitats |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255398 |
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