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Prey‐to‐fox isotopic enrichment of 34 S in bone collagen: Implications for paleoecological studies
Author(s) -
Krajcarz Maciej T.,
Krajcarz Magdalena,
Drucker Dorothée G.,
Bocherens Hervé
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.8471
Subject(s) - vulpes , subfossil , predation , predator , trophic level , chemistry , stable isotope ratio , isotope analysis , taphonomy , zoology , ecology , biology , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , holocene
Rationale The trophic enrichment factor (TEF) is a parameter reflecting the difference in isotopic ratio between a consumer's tissues and diet, used in isotopic ecology and paleoecology to track dietary habits. The TEF of sulfur is believed to be low, but was, until now, only documented in a limited number of taxa. In this study we use a subfossil accumulation of bones from a red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) den to verify the TEF for sulfur in fox bone collagen. Methods Collagen was extracted from 30 samples of subfossil bones, including foxes and their prey. The δ 34 S values of the bone collagen samples were measured with an elemental analyzer connected to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The TEF was calculated as [Δ 34 S = (mean δ 34 S in predator) – (mean δ 34 S in prey)], using taphonomic indices to estimate the mean diet, and calculated separately for different age classes of the predator. Results We modeled 12 variants of TEF for different estimations of the diet composition and for three fox age classes (adult, subadult, and juvenile). The estimated TEF values range from −0.54 to +0.03‰ and are similar to TEFs known for other mammals. Absolute TEF values are nearly equal to or lower than the analytical error, which is ±0.4‰. Conclusions For the first time, we present direct δ 34 S data for the bone collagen of a free‐living predator and its naturally selected prey. Our results indicate very low or even slightly negative TEF values for sulfur. Furthermore, according to our results, the δ 34 S value should not be considered a reliable indicator of trophic position in terrestrial food webs but rather, it should be used to disentangle different food webs based on different primary producers.