East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 8-2021 Isotopic Analysis and Mobility Mapping of Mammuthus columbi from the Mammoth Site in South Dakota Matthew Harrington East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Biogeochemistry Commons, and the Paleontology Commons Recommended Citation Harrington, Matthew, "Isotopic Analysis and Mobility Mapping of Mammuthus columbi from the Mammoth Site in South Dakota" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3932. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3932 This Thesis - unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Isotopic Analysis and Mobility Mapping of Mammuthus columbi from the Mammoth Site in South Dakota ________________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Geosciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Geosciences, Paleontology ______________________ by Matthew Harrington August 2021 _____________________ Chris Widga, Chair Andrew Joyner Joshua X. Samuels Blaine W. Schubert Keywords: Mammoth Site, Pleistocene, isotope, mobility, paleoecology ABSTRACT Isotopic Analysis and Mobility Mapping of Mammuthus columbi from the Mammoth Site in South Dakota by Matthew Harrington The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota preserves a unique death assemblage of sub- adult and adult male Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi). Extensive work on the site has led to a detailed understanding of the taphonomy of the assemblage; yet the life histories and ecology of these mammoths remain relatively unknown. Tooth enamel from four Mammoth Site mammoth individuals were bulk sampled with one of the individuals (MSL 742) also serially micro-sampled for 훿13C, 훿18O, and 87Sr/86Sr. Isotopic results indicate that MSL 742 remained within the southern and western Black Hills year-round with no consistent migration patterns. 훿13C and 훿18O values contain minimal fluctuations, suggesting drinking water and forage was sourced from the local hot springs and surrounding landscape. This study suggests the high level of sloped landscapes in the region may have resulted in a “bull”-only region, explaining the absence of females and juvenile mammoths at the site. 2 Copyright 2021 by Matthew Harrington All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the Geological Society of America (GSA) for providing a grant that made this research possible. I thank my committee chair, Dr. Chris Widga, as well as my other committee members Dr. Andrew Joyner, Dr. Joshua X. Samuels, and Dr. Blaine Schubert for their input and assistance with this project. I want to thank the Mammoth Site, including Dr. Jim Mead and Olga Potapova, for letting me access collections and provide helpful insights into the paleontology of the site. I also want to thank Dr. Al Wanamaker and Dr. Doug Walker for their collaborative assistance analyzing samples in their respective isotopic laboratories. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 10 Stable Carbon Isotopes .............................................................................................................. 10 Stable Oxygen Isotopes ............................................................................................................. 12 Strontium Isotopes .................................................................................................................... 15 Mammoths................................................................................................................................. 18 Isotope Studies in Proboscideans .............................................................................................. 20 The Mammoth Site .................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 2. A SURFACE 87SR/86SR ISOSCAPE MODEL FOR THE BLACK HILLS AND SURROUNDING REGION ......................................................................................................... 27 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 27 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 32 North American Interior Model ............................................................................................ 32 Rockies/Great Plains Model ................................................................................................. 42 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 51 Model Comparison ............................................................................................................... 51 Regions with High 87Sr/86Sr Values ...................................................................................... 53 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 54 CHAPTER 3. ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS AND MOBILITY MAPPING OF MAMMUTHUS COLUMBI FROM THE MAMMOTH SITE ............................................................................... 55 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 55 Materials and Methods .............................................................................................................. 60 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 66 Bulk Samples ........................................................................................................................ 66 MSL 742 ............................................................................................................................... 69 5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 74 Influence of Hot Springs on Local Isotopic Variability ....................................................... 74 MSL 742 Dietary Reconstruction ......................................................................................... 77 Geographical Influences ....................................................................................................... 80 Implications for Mammoth Paleoecology ............................................................................. 87 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 89 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 91 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ 110 Appendix A: MSL 742 Mobility Maps .................................................................................. 110 Appendix B: Geologic Age Table ........................................................................................... 121 VITA ........................................................................................................................................... 139 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Bulk Isotopic Values from MSL 734, 742, 749, and 3068 ............................................ 68 Table 2. Micromill Isotopic Values from MSL 742 .................................................................... 70 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. MIS 6 maximum glaciation extent ................................................................................24 Figure 2. Primary 87Sr/86Sr isoscape of the North American Interior centered on the Black Hills ...............................................................................................................................33 Figure 3. Primary model’s training features with prediction error ...............................................34 Figure 4. Bottom 5th percentile of predicted 87Sr/86Sr values