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      Multiproxy evidence for leaf-browsing and closed habitats in extinct proboscideans (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from Central Chile

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          Significance

          The multiproxy approach represents a novel methodology and a unique opportunity to obtain a more detailed view of ancient resource use. Our multiproxy study, carried out on gomphotheres from Chile, widens potential occupied habitats to closed-canopy forests. This habitat variability supports the hypothesis that the diet of gomphotheres appears to be more constrained by resource availability than by the potential dietary range. We strongly recommend the use of a multiproxy approach, where morphology analyses are complemented by other sources of information. This approach prevents misleading conclusions about the origin of the proxy’s signal from arising, such as a leaf-browsing diet inferred from the dental calculus and microwear not necessarily being indicative of humidity.

          Abstract

          Proboscideans are so-called ecosystem engineers and are considered key players in hypotheses about Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions. However, knowledge about the autoecology and chronology of the proboscideans in South America is still open to debate and raises controversial views. Here, we used a range of multiproxy approaches and new radiocarbon datings to study the autoecology of Chilean gomphotheres, the only group of proboscideans to reach South America during the Great American Biotic Interchange (∼3.1 to 2.7 million years before present). As part of this study, we analyzed stable isotopes, dental microwear, and dental calculus microfossils on gomphothere molars from 30 Late Pleistocene sites (31° to 42°S). These proxies provided different scales of temporal resolution, which were then combined to assess the dietary and habitat patterns of these proboscideans. The multiproxy study suggests that most foraging took place in relatively closed environments. In Central Chile, there is a positive correlation between lower δ 13C values and an increasing consumption of arboreal/scrub elements. Analyses of dental microwear and calculus microfossils have verified these leaf-browsing feeding habits. From a comparative perspective, the dietary pattern of South American gomphotheres appears to be constrained more by resource availability than by the potential dietary range of the individual taxa. This multiproxy study is aimed at increasing knowledge of the life history of gomphotheres and thus follows an issue considered one of the greatest challenges for paleontology in South America, recently pointed out by the need to thoroughly understand the role of ecological engineers before making predictions about the consequences of ecosystem defaunation.

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          New method of collagen extraction for radiocarbon dating.

          R Longin (1971)
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            Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate.

            A broad compilation of modern carbon isotope compositions in all C3 plant types shows a monotonic increase in δ(13)C with decreasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) that differs from previous models. Corrections for temperature, altitude, or latitude are smaller than previously estimated. As corrected for altitude, latitude, and the δ(13)C of atmospheric CO(2), these data permit refined interpretation of MAP, paleodiet, and paleoecology of ecosystems dominated by C3 plants, either prior to 7-8 million years ago (Ma), or more recently at mid- to high latitudes. Twenty-nine published paleontological studies suggest preservational or scientific bias toward dry ecosystems, although wet ecosystems are also represented. Unambiguous isotopic evidence for C4 plants is lacking prior to 7-8 Ma, and hominid ecosystems at 4.4 Ma show no isotopic evidence for dense forests. Consideration of global plant biomass indicates that average δ(13)C of C3 plants is commonly overestimated by approximately 2‰.
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              Global patterns of the isotopic composition of soil and plant nitrogen

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
                Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
                pnas
                pnas
                PNAS
                Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
                National Academy of Sciences
                0027-8424
                1091-6490
                11 September 2018
                27 August 2018
                27 August 2018
                : 115
                : 37
                : 9258-9263
                Affiliations
                [1] aBiomolecular Laboratory, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolucio Social , 43007 Tarragona, Spain;
                [2] bDepartamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , 28040 Madrid, Spain;
                [3] cÁrea de Arqueología, Gestión Ambiental S.A. , 7550000 Santiago, Chile;
                [4] dInstituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile , 5090000 Valdivia, Chile;
                [5] eArea de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili , 43002 Tarragona, Spain;
                [6] fEarth and Planetary Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz , CA 95064;
                [7] gInstitució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , 08010 Barcelona, Spain;
                [8] hDepartment of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802;
                [9] iDepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , 8320000 Santiago, Chile
                Author notes
                1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: erwingonzalezguarda@ 123456gmail.com .

                Edited by Nils Chr. Stenseth, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, and approved July 23, 2018 (received for review March 18, 2018)

                Author contributions: M.P., A.M.A., R.L., and P.S. designed research; J.A. and V.T. performed research; A.P.-P., L.D., N.A.V., and F.R. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; C.T. and J.M.C. analyzed data; and E.G.-G. and F.R. wrote the paper.

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6046-0939
                http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8074-9254
                Article
                201804642
                10.1073/pnas.1804642115
                6140480
                30150377
                76cef203-1337-4e77-a333-a3f272679ff2
                Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

                This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).

                History
                Page count
                Pages: 6
                Funding
                Funded by: Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) 501100002850
                Award ID: 1150738
                Award Recipient : Carlos Tornero Award Recipient : Laura Domingo Award Recipient : Jordi Agustí Award Recipient : Mario Pino Award Recipient : Ana Abarzúa Award Recipient : José M. Capriles Award Recipient : Natalia Villavicencio Award Recipient : Rafael Labarca Award Recipient : Violeta Tolorza Award Recipient : Paloma Sevilla Award Recipient : Florent Rivals
                Funded by: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) 501100003329
                Award ID: CGL 2016-80000-B
                Award Recipient : Carlos Tornero Award Recipient : Laura Domingo Award Recipient : Jordi Agustí Award Recipient : Mario Pino Award Recipient : Ana Abarzúa Award Recipient : José M. Capriles Award Recipient : Natalia Villavicencio Award Recipient : Rafael Labarca Award Recipient : Violeta Tolorza Award Recipient : Paloma Sevilla Award Recipient : Florent Rivals
                Funded by: Government of Catalonia | Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) 501100003030
                Award ID: CGL2013-43257-R
                Award Recipient : Carlos Tornero Award Recipient : Laura Domingo Award Recipient : Jordi Agustí Award Recipient : Mario Pino Award Recipient : Ana Abarzúa Award Recipient : José M. Capriles Award Recipient : Natalia Villavicencio Award Recipient : Rafael Labarca Award Recipient : Violeta Tolorza Award Recipient : Paloma Sevilla Award Recipient : Florent Rivals
                Categories
                Biological Sciences
                Ecology
                Physical Sciences
                Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

                stable isotopes,dental calculus,dental microwear
                stable isotopes, dental calculus, dental microwear

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