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Bone stable isotopic signatures ( 15 N, 18 O) as tracers of temperature variation during the Late‐glacial and early Holocene: case study on red deer Cervus elaphus from Rochedane (Jura, France)
Author(s) -
Drucker D.G.,
Bridault A.,
Iacumin P.,
Bocherens H.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geological journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.721
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1099-1034
pISSN - 0072-1050
DOI - 10.1002/gj.1170
Subject(s) - holocene , glacial period , stable isotope ratio , cervus elaphus , geology , isotopes of oxygen , isotopes of nitrogen , cervus , mammal , quaternary , isotope , chemistry , physical geography , nitrogen , ecology , paleontology , biology , geochemistry , geography , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Stable isotopes in mammal bones are mainly used to reconstruct dietary preferences and their use as palaeoclimatic indicators is less developed. However, important variations in 15 N abundances observed in the bone collagen of large mammals during the Late‐glacial and early Holocene have been tentatively linked to a general increase in temperature. In order to test this hypothesis, we analysed nitrogen and oxygen isotopic abundances from bones of red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) from the Rochedane site (Jura, France). We observe a clear linear relationship between 15 N and 18 O that demonstrates the effect of temperature on the abundance of 15 N in red deer bone collagen. These results suggest that an increase in soil maturation during global warming of the Late‐glacial and early Holocene led to an increase of 15 N in soils and plants that was passed on to their consumers. Red deer seem to be particularly suited for palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on the isotopic signatures of their bones. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.