Using Stable Carbon Isotope, Microwear, and Mesowear
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USING STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE, MICROWEAR, AND MESOWEAR ANALYSES TO DETERMINE THE PALEODIETS OF NEOGENE UNGULATES AND THE PRESENCE 0F C4 OR C3 GRASSES IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA By JONATHAN M. HOFFMAN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Jonathan M. Hoffman ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jonathan Bloch for his guidance on this project. I would also like to thank my committee members: Dr. David Hodell, Dr. Richard Hulbert, and Dr. Andrew Zimmerman. Their suggestions and advice are greatly appreciated. In addition to their helpful advice, Dr. Bloch, Dr. Hulbert, and Dr. Zimmerman all aided in collecting fossil samples. I would like to thank Art Poyer and Jeremy Green for their help in collecting samples. I am especially appreciative of the Englehard Corporation and Dave Mihalik for allowing me to collect fossils from their mines and being incredibly helpful at those sites. I would like to thank Dr. Penny Higgins for her assistance in learning the sampling techniques for stable isotope analysis of fossil teeth and the chemical protocol for preparing those samples for analysis. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Jason Curtis for running my samples on the mass spectrometer and for all of his advice. My fellow graduate students aided me with discussion and advice. I am very appreciative of P.J. Moore, Warren Grice, Jane Gustavson, and Derrick Newkirk for listening and providing support. Finally, I would like to thank my family, who has always supported me and encouraged me to pursue my passions. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 2 FIELD AREA AND FAUNA.....................................................................................17 3 MESOWEAR METHOD ...........................................................................................29 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................31 Results.........................................................................................................................32 4 MICROWEAR METHOD .........................................................................................40 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................41 Results.........................................................................................................................44 5 STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS...............................................................................48 Background.................................................................................................................48 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................54 Results.........................................................................................................................57 6 DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................67 7 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................80 APPENDIX A MESOWEAR VALUES LISTED BY SAMPLE.......................................................82 B SERIAL STABLE ISOTOPE VALUES....................................................................86 iv LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................88 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...........................................................................................102 v LIST OF TABLES Table page 2-1 Biochronological ranges of the Willacoochee Creek Fauna. ...................................23 3-1 Systematic and morphological information about the taxa used in the mesowear analysis.....................................................................................................................35 3-2 Observed percentages of mesowear attributes (% high and % low refer to the percentage of specimens with high or low occlusal relief and % sharp, % round, and % blunt refer to the percentage of specimens with sharp, round or blunt cusp shape). ......................................................................................................................36 3-3 Dietary classifications based on hierarchical cluster analyses of mesowear attributes from Table 3-2..........................................................................................36 4-1 Individual microwear counts for 3 specimens of Acritohippus isonesus and 7 specimens of Neohipparion trampasense. ...............................................................46 4-2 Calculated average microwear values and percentages for Acritohippus isonesus and Neohipparion trampasense................................................................................47 4-3 Isotopic data for equids from 4 central Florida sites................................................47 5-1 List of the 24 specimens analyzed for stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis..60 5-2 Bulk stable carbon and oxygen isotope values for Willacoochee Creek Fauna.......61 5-3 Descriptive statistics of the δ13C and δ18O values for 8 herbivores from the Willacoochee Creek Fauna.......................................................................................62 6-1 Isotopic data for equids from 4 central Florida sites................................................79 A-1 Abbreviations: UF ID = catalogue number in Florida Museum of Natural History collections,...................................................................................................82 B-1 Abbreviations: ELC = Englehard La Camelia Mine, MGF = Milwhite Gunn Farm Mine, and LC2 = La Camelia 2 Mine.............................................................86 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 2-1 Index map of middle Miocene localities in northern Florida...................................22 2-2 Composite section of the Torreya Formation and the location of the Willacoochee Creek Fauna within the Dogtown Member. ......................................24 2-3 Correlated stratigraphic sections of the Englehard La Camelia and Milwhite Gunn Farm Mines.....................................................................................................25 2-4 Fresh cut at the newest site, the Crescent Lake Mine, in Decatur County, Georgia.....................................................................................................................26 2-5 Stratigraphic and temporal distribution of the 3 fossil sites studied in the mesowear analysis, as well as a fourth (Moss Acres) ..............................................27 2-6 Tooth positions.........................................................................................................28 3-1 Dendrogram illustrating the hierarchical cluster analysis of the 27 ‘typical’ grazers, browsers, and mixed feeders from Fortelius and Solounias (2000). ..........34 3-2 Examples of typical mesowear attributes.................................................................35 3-3 Dendrograms illustrating the hierarchical cluster analyses of 6 studied taxa amongst the 27 ‘typical’ grazers, browsers, and mixed feeders from Fortelius and Solounias (2000)................................................................................................37 5-1 Schematic of isotopic fractionation between atmospheric carbon and C3 plants, as well as fractionation between C3 plants and ruminant herbivores.......................59 5-2 Plot of bulk δ13C vs. δ18O values for the 8 herbivores from the Willacoochee Creek Fauna..............................................................................................................63 5-3 δ13C values for serial samples of two Aphelops specimens. ....................................64 5-4 δ18O values for serial samples of two Aphelops specimens. ....................................64 5-5 δ13C values for serial samples of two Merychippus primus specimens. ..................65 5-6 δ18O values for serial samples of two Merychippus primus specimens. ..................65 vii 5-7 δ13C values for serial samples of two Acriohippus isonesus specimens. .................66 5-8 δ18O values for serial sampling of two Acritohippus isonesus specimens. ..............66 6-1 Plot of microwear index versus δ13C values. ...........................................................78 viii Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science USING STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE, MICROWEAR, AND MESOWEAR ANALYSES TO DETERMINE THE PALEODIETS OF NEOGENE UNGULATES AND THE PRESENCE 0F C4 OR C3 GRASSES IN NORTHRN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA By Jonathan M. Hoffman December 2006