Abstract
Strontium isotopes can be used as biogeochemical tracers in the study of human and animal ecology. Strontium isotopes are characteristic of the local geology, and they pass through the food chain with significant fractionation. The local geology can be characterized by strontium isotope analysis (reported as a simple ratio of isotope abundances) of the soils and plants that form the catchment or home range of the species under study. Soil (Dasch 1969) and plants (Hurst and Davis 1981) are in isotopic equilibrium with local source rock and share similar isotopic ratios for strontium. Dietary strontium is incorporated in tissues and stored for different periods of time depending on the strontium turnover rates of the specific tissues. Accordingly, strontium isotope analysis of permanent teeth, gut contents, and muscle and bone tissues, all having different turnover rates, may provide important data in studying animal migration and local movement, particularly if animals move between regions with heterogeneous geology.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berger AJ (1981) Hawaiian Birdlife, 2nd edition. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu.
Harvard Botanical Museum Leaflets 28:71–80.
Dasch EJ (1969) Strontium isotopes in weathering profiles, deep-sea sediments and sedimentary rocks. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 33:1521–1552.
Elias RW, Hirao Y, and Patterson CC (1982) The circumvention of the natural biopurification of calcium along nutrient pathways by atmospheric inputs of industrial lead. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46:2561–2580.
Ericson JE (1980) Strontium isotope characterization. Proceedings of the Society forArchaeological Sciences (Abstract).
Ericson JE (1985) Strontium isotope characterization in the study of prehistoric human ecology. J. Hum. Ecol. 14:503–514.
Ericson JE, Hurst RW, and Davis TE (1986) Strontium isotope characterization of teeth for tracing residence patterns. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstracts 99945.
Ericson JE, Shirahata H, and Patterson CC (1979) Skeletal concentrations of lead in ancient Peruvians. N. Engl. J. Med. 300:946–951.
Faure G and Powell JL (1972) Strontium Isotope Geology. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Hurst RW (1983) Volcanogensis contemporaneous with mid-ocean ridge subduction and translation, pp. 88–112. In Austithis SS (editor), Significance of Trace Elements in Petrogenetic Problems and Controversy. Theophrastus Publications, Athens.
Hurst RW and Davis TE (1981) Strontium isotopes as tracers of airborne fly ash from coal-fire power plants. Environ. Geol. 3:363–367.
Patterson CC and Ericson JE (1986) Diagenetic effects on trace metal occurrences in buried bones. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstract 99939.
Schoeninger MJ and Peebles CS (1982) Effect of mollusc eating on human bone strontium level. J. Archaeol. Sci. 8:391–397.
Sullivan CH and Krueger HW (1981) Carbon isotope analysis of separate chemical phases of modern and fossil bone. Nature 292:333–335.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ericson, J.E. (1989). Some Problems and Potentials of Strontium Isotope Analysis for Human and Animal Ecology. In: Rundel, P.W., Ehleringer, J.R., Nagy, K.A. (eds) Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research. Ecological Studies, vol 68. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3498-2_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3498-2_14
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8127-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3498-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive