16 research outputs found

    Continental igneous rock composition: A major control of past global chemical weathering

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    The composition of igneous rocks in the continental crust has changed throughout Earth’s history. However, the impact of these compositional variations on chemical weathering, and by extension on seawater and atmosphere evolution, is largely unknown. We use the strontium isotope ratio in seawater [(87Sr/86Sr)seawater] as a proxy for chemical weathering, and we test the sensitivity of (87Sr/86Sr)seawater variations to the strontium isotopic composition (87Sr/86Sr) in igneous rocks generated through time. We demonstrate that the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in igneous rocks is correlated to the epsilon hafnium (εHf) of their hosted zircon grains, and we use the detrital zircon record to reconstruct the evolution of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in zircon-bearing igneous rocks. The reconstructed 87Sr/86Sr variations in igneous rocks are strongly correlated with the (87Sr/86Sr)seawater variations over the last 1000 million years, suggesting a direct control of the isotopic composition of silicic magmatism on (87Sr/86Sr)seawater variations. The correlation decreases during several time periods, likely reflecting changes in the chemical weathering rate associated with paleogeographic, climatic, or tectonic events. We argue that for most of the last 1000 million years, the (87Sr/86Sr)seawater variations are responding to changes in the isotopic composition of silicic magmatism rather than to changes in the global chemical weathering rate. We conclude that the (87Sr/86Sr)seawater variations are of limited utility to reconstruct changes in the global chemical weathering rate in deep times

    Silver Linings at the Dawn of a ‘Golden Age'

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    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the editors at Frontiers for their support and patience, and the careful consideration two reviewers gave to this manuscript. MJW would like to acknowledge that, at Fairbanks, he is working on the ancestral land of Troth Yeddha’, home of the Lower Tanana people. He would also like to acknowledge that the lands on which he does his work are the ancestral lands of the Dené people who stewarded those lands for thousands of years and continue to steward those lands, further he would like to thank them and respect their enduring relationship to their homelands.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    The Afrotropical breeding grounds of the Palearctic-African migratory painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui)

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    Migratory insects are key players in ecosystem functioning and services, but their spatiotemporal distributions are typically poorly known. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) may be used to predict species seasonal distributions, but the resulting hypotheses should eventually be validated by field data. The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) performs multigenerational migrations between Europe and Africa and has become a model species for insect movement ecology. While the annual migration cycle of this species is well understood for Europe and northernmost Africa, it is still unknown where most individuals spend the winter. Through ENM, we previously predicted suitable breeding grounds in the subhumid regions near the tropics between November and February. In this work, we assess the suitability of these predictions through i) extensive field surveys and ii) two-year monitoring in six countries: a large-scale monitoring scheme to study butterfly migration in Africa. We document new breeding locations, year-round phenological information, and hostplant use. Field observations were nearly always predicted with high probability by the previous ENM, and monitoring demonstrated the influence of the precipitation seasonality regime on migratory phenology. Using the updated dataset, we built a refined ENM for the Palearctic-African range of V. cardui. We confirm the relevance of the Afrotropical region and document the missing natural history pieces of the longest migratory cycle described in butterflies.This work was funded by the National Geographic Society (grant WW1-300R-18); by the British Ecological Society (grant LRB16/1015); by the Research and Conservation Projects of the Fundació Barcelona Zoo; by the grant PID2020-117739GA-I00/MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Spanish State Research Agency to G.T.; by the grant LINKA20399 from the Spanish National Research Council iLink program to G.T., C.P.B., N.E.P., and R.V.; by fellowship FPU19/01593 of the program Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU) to A.G.-B.; by the Turkana Basin Institute, National Geographic Society, and Whitley Fund for Nature to D.J.M.; and by grant 2018-00738 of the New Frontiers in Research Fund (Government of Canada) to G.T. and C.P.B.Significance Abstract Results Field Surveys, Larval Hostplants, and Field-Based Model Validation Monitoring Results and Population Dynamics across Regions A Refined Model for the Afrotropical Region Discussion The Afrotropical Breeding Grounds of V. cardui: Multiple Generations Shift South Toward the Tropics Diversity and Phenology of Larval Hostplants in the Afrotropics The Ecological Relevance of Delimiting Spatiotemporal Distributions in Migratory Insects Conclusion Methods December-January Field Surveys and Year-Round Monitoring Spatiotemporal Ecological Niche Modeling Data, Materials, and Software Availability Acknowledgments Supporting Information Reference

    There and back again: Combining hydrogen and strontium isotopes refines the trans-Saharan migratory patterns of the butterfly Vanessa cardui

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    Comunicación oral presentada en el EGU23 General Assembly celebrado del 23 al 28 abril 202

    Temporal stability of d2H in insect tissues: Implications for isotope-based geographic assignments

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    Hydrogen isotope geolocation of insects is based on the assumption that the chitin in the wings of adult migratory insects preserves the hydrogen isotope composition (δ2H) of the larval stages without influence of adult diet. Here, we test this assumption by conducting laboratory feeding experiments for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) including: (1) a starvation treatment where adults were not fed and (2) an enriched treatment where adults were fed a diet isotopically enriched in deuterium (~ +78‰) compared to the larval diet. The δ2H values of adult wings were measured at different time steps along the 24-day experiment. We also investigated intra-wing differences in δ2H values caused by wing pigmentation, absence of wing scales, and presence of major wing veins. We conclude that, although the magnitude of the changes in δ2H values are small (~6‰), wing δ2H values vary based on adult diet and insect age, particularly early after eclosion (i.e., 1-4 days). We found that wing shade, wing pigmentation, and the presence of wing scales do not alter wing δ2H values. However, wing samples containing veins had systematically higher δ2H values (~9‰), suggesting that adult diet influences the hemolymph that circulates in the wing veins. We hypothesise that there is a stronger influence of adult diet on the isotope signal of wings during early adult life relative to later life because of increased metabolic and physiologic activity in young insect wings. We argue that the influence of the isotopic contribution of adult diet is generally small and is likely minimal if the wings are carefully sampled to avoid veins. However, we also demonstrated that wings are not inert tissues, and that adult feeding contributes to some of the intra-population δ2H variance. We conclude that d2H geolocation using insect wings remains valid, but that adult feeding, butterfly age and wing vein sampling generate an inherent uncertainty limiting the precision of geolocation.CB and GT acknowledge funding from the SSHRC CRSH New Frontiers in Research Fund 2018 (NFRFE-2018-00738). MR acknowledges funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship 2021–2022. GT acknowledges funding from the grant PID2020-117739GA-I00 from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the grant LINKA20399 from the CSIC iLink program. EL acknowledges funding from the G.G. Hatch Award of the Ján Veizer Stable Isotope Laboratory Scholarship, University of Ottawa, 2022, the TD Green Bursaries, 2021 and the O’Connor Associates Environmental Scholarship, 2021.Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Feeding experiment 2.1.1. Larval stage 2.1.2. Adult stage 2.2. Sample preparation 2.3. Stable isotope analysis 2.4. Statistical analysis 2.4.1. Multivariate linear regression 2.4.2. Tukey HSD test 2.4.3. Paired t-tests 3. Results 3.1. Trends in wing δ2H based on adult diet and insect age 3.2. Intra-wing differences in δ2H values 4. Discussion 4.1. Identifying non-significant controls on δ2H values in butterfly wings 4.2. Identifying significant controls on δ2H values in butterfly wings 4.3. Isotope element cycling and isotope-based geographic assignments for migratory insects 4.4. Limitations and future studies 4.5. Summary Data availability statement Author contributions Funding Acknowledgments Conflict of interest Publisher’s note Supplementary material Reference

    Multi-isotopes in human hair: A tool to initiate cross-border collaboration in international cold-cases

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    Unidentified human remains have historically been investigated nationally by law enforcement authorities. However, this approach is outdated in a globalized world with rapid transportation means, where humans easily move long distances across borders. Cross-border cooperation in solving cold-cases is rare due to political, administrative or technical challenges. It is fundamental to develop new tools to provide rapid and cost-effective leads for international cooperation. In this work, we demonstrate that isotopic measurements are effective screening tools to help identify cold-cases with potential international ramifications. We first complete existing databases of hydrogen and sulfur isotopes in human hair from residents across North America by compiling or analyzing hair from Canada, the United States (US) and Mexico. Using these databases, we develop maps predicting isotope variations in human hair across North America. We demonstrate that both δ2H and δ34S values of human hair are highly predictable and display strong spatial patterns. Multi-isotope analysis combined with dual δ2H and δ34S geographic probability maps provide evidence for international travel in two case studies. In the first, we demonstrate that multi-isotope analysis in bulk hair of deceased border crossers found in the US, close to the Mexico-US border, help trace their last place of residence or travel back to specific regions of Mexico. These findings were validated by the subsequent identification of these individuals through the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona. In the second case study, we demonstrate that sequential multi-isotope analysis along the hair strands of an unidentified individual found in Canada provides detailed insights into the international mobility of this individual during the last year of life. In both cases, isotope data provide strong leads towards international travel

    Metals and metal isotopes incorporation in insect wings: Implications for geolocation and pollution exposure

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    Anthropogenic activities are exposing insects to elevated levels of toxic metals and are altering the bioavailability of essential metals. Metals and metal isotopes have also become promising tools for the geolocation of migratory insects. Understanding the pathways of metal incorporation in insect tissues is thus important for assessing the role of metals in insect physiology and ecology and for the development of metals and metal isotopes as geolocation tools. We conducted a diet-switching experiment on monarch butterflies [Danaus plexippus (L.)] with controlled larval and adult diets to evaluate the sources of 23 metals and metalloids, strontium isotopes, and lead isotopes to insect wing tissues over a period of 8 weeks. Concentrations of Ca, Co, Mo, and Sb differed between the sexes or with body mass. Ni and Zn bioaccumulated in the insect wing tissues over time, likely from the adult diet, while increases in Al, Cr, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Pb were, at least partially, from external sources (i.e., dust aerosols). Bioaccumulation of Pb in the monarch wings was confirmed by Pb isotopes to mainly be sourced from external anthropogenic sources, revealing the potential of Pb isotopes to become an indicator and tracer of metal pollution exposure along migratory paths. Concentrations of Ba, Cs, Mg, Na, Rb, Sr, Ti, Tl, and U appeared to be unaffected by intrinsic factors or additions of metals from adult dietary or external sources, and their potential for geolocation should be further explored. Strontium isotope ratios remained indicative of the larval diet, at least in males, supporting its potential as a geolocation tool. However, the difference in strontium isotope ratios between sexes, as well as the possibility of external contamination by wetting, requires further investigation. Our results demonstrate the complexity of metal incorporation processes in insects and the value of studying metals to develop new tools to quantify pollution exposure, metal toxicity, micronutrient uptake, and insect mobility.This study was funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund (CB and GT) and Syngenta Canada, Inc. (RN). GT acknowledges funding from the grant PID2020-117739GA-I00 from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the grant LINKA20399 from the CSIC iLink program. MR was supported by the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) and an OntarioGraduate Scholarship.1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Diet-switching experiment 2.1.1. Trace element analysis 2.1.2. Strontium isotope ratios analysis 2.1.3. Lead isotope ratios analysis 2.1.4. Statistical analysis 2.1.5. Mobility index and enrichment factors 2.2. Wetting experiment 2.3. Natural metal concentrations in monarchs 3. Results 3.1. Metals classified into four categories 3.2. Strontium and strontium isotope ratios 3.3. Lead and lead isotope ratios 3.4. Natural metal concentrations in lab-raised and wild monarchs 4. Discussion 4.1. Regulation of metals in insect wings 4.2. Bioaccumulation of metals in insect wings 4.3. Geolocation using metals and metal isotopes 4.4. Natural metal concentrations 5. Conclusion Data availability statement Author contributions Funding Acknowledgments Conflict of interest Publisher’s note Supplementary material Reference
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