Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotopes in modern tooth enamel: A case study from Gorongosa National Park, central Mozambique

The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (delta C-13), nitrogen (delta N-15), and oxygen (delta O-18) in animal tissues are powerful tools for reconstructing the feeding behavior of individual animals and characterizing trophic interactions in food webs. Of these biomaterials, tooth enamel is the hardest, most mineralized vertebrate tissue and therefore least likely to be affected by chemical alteration (i.e., its isotopic composition can be preserved over millions of years), making it an important and widely available archive for biologists and paleontologists. Here, we present the first combined measurements of delta C-13, delta N-15, and delta O-18 in enamel from the teeth of modern fauna (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores) from the well-studied ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in central Mozambique. We use two novel methods to produce high-precision stable isotope enamel data: (i) the "oxidation-denitrification method," which permits the measurement of mineral-bound organic nitrogen in tooth enamel (delta N-15(enamel)), which until now, has not been possible due to enamel's low organic content, and (ii) the "cold trap method," which greatly reduces the sample size required for traditional measurements of inorganic delta C-13(enamel) and delta O-18(enamel) (from >= 0.5 to <= 0.1 mg), permitting analysis of small or valuable teeth and high-resolution serial sampling of enamel. The stable isotope results for GNP fauna reveal important ecological information about the trophic level, dietary niche, and resource consumption. delta N-15(enamel) values clearly differentiate trophic level (i.e., carnivore delta N-15(enamel) values are 4.0 parts per thousand higher, on average, than herbivores), delta C-13(enamel) values distinguish C-3 and/or C-4 biomass consumption, and delta O-18(enamel) values reflect local meteoric water (delta O-18(water)) in the park. Analysis of combined carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope data permits geochemical separation of grazers, browsers, omnivores, and carnivores according to their isotopic niche, while mixed-feeding herbivores cannot be clearly distinguished from other dietary groups. These results confirm that combined C, N, and O isotope analyses of a single aliquot of tooth enamel can be used to reconstruct diet and trophic niches. Given its resistance to chemical alteration, the analysis of these three isotopes in tooth enamel has a high potential to open new avenues of research in (paleo)ecology and paleontology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotopes in modern tooth enamel: A case study from Gorongosa National Park, central Mozambique

The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in animal tissues are powerful tools for reconstructing the feeding behavior of individual animals and characterizing trophic interactions in food webs. Of these biomaterials, tooth enamel is the hardest, most mineralized vertebrate tissue and therefore least likely to be affected by chemical alteration (i.e., its isotopic composition can be preserved over millions of years), making it an important and widely available archive for biologists and paleontologists. Here, we present the first combined measurements of δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O in enamel from the teeth of modern fauna (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores) from the well-studied ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in central Mozambique. We use two novel methods to produce high-precision stable isotope enamel data: (i) the “oxidation-denitrification method,” which permits the measurement of mineral-bound organic nitrogen in tooth enamel (δ15Nenamel), which until now, has not been possible due to enamel’s low organic content, and (ii) the “cold trap method,” which greatly reduces the sample size required for traditional measurements of inorganic δ13Cenamel and δ18Oenamel (from ≥0.5 to ≤0.1 mg), permitting analysis of small or valuable teeth and high-resolution serial sampling of enamel. The stable isotope results for GNP fauna reveal important ecological information about the trophic level, dietary niche, and resource consumption. δ15Nenamel values clearly differentiate trophic level (i.e., carnivore δ15Nenamel values are 4.0‰ higher, on average, than herbivores), δ13Cenamel values distinguish C3 and/or C4 biomass consumption, and δ18Oenamel values reflect local meteoric water (δ18Owater) in the park. Analysis of combined carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope data permits geochemical separation of grazers, browsers, omnivores, and carnivores according to their isotopic niche, while mixed-feeding herbivores cannot be clearly distinguished from other dietary groups. These results confirm that combined C, N, and O isotope analyses of a single aliquot of tooth enamel can be used to reconstruct diet and trophic niches. Given its resistance to chemical alteration, the analysis of these three isotopes in tooth enamel has a high potential to open new avenues of research in (paleo)ecology and paleontology

Genomic variation in baboons from central Mozambique unveils complex evolutionary relationships with other Papio species

Background Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering over 200 troops. Gorongosa baboons have been tentatively identified as part of Papio ursinus on the basis of previous limited morphological analysis and a handful of mitochondrial DNA sequences. However, a recent morphological and morphometric analysis of Gorongosa baboons pinpointed the occurrence of several traits intermediate between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus, leaving open the possibility of past and/or ongoing gene flow in the baboon population of Gorongosa National Park. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of baboons in Gorongosa, we generated high and low coverage whole genome sequence data of Gorongosa baboons and compared it to available Papio genomes. Results We confirmed that P. ursinus is the species closest to Gorongosa baboons. However, the Gorongosa baboon genomes share more derived alleles with P. cynocephalus than P. ursinus does, but no recent gene flow between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus was detected when available Papio genomes were analyzed. Our results, based on the analysis of autosomal, mitochondrial and Y chromosome data, suggest complex, possibly male-biased, gene flow between Gorongosa baboons and P. cynocephalus, hinting to direct or indirect contributions from baboons belonging to the “northern” Papio clade, and signal the presence of population structure within P. ursinus. Conclusions The analysis of genome data generated from baboon samples collected in central Mozambique highlighted a complex set of evolutionary relationships with other baboons. Our results provided new insights in the population dynamics that have shaped baboon diversity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Age estimation in Mozambican children by measurement of open apices in mandibular permanent teeth

Dissertação de Mestrado em Antropologia Forense apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaA estimativa de idade em subadultos é fundamental na tomada de decisões sobre o trabalho infantil, adoções, responsabilidade criminal dos supostos menores de idade, sobre o pedido de estatuto de refugiado/asilo político, prostituição, pornografia de menores, entre outros. A Antropologia Forense tem vindo a desempenhar um papel importante na avaliação da idade de menores. Os métodos não invasivos, baseados na idade dentária e na idade óssea, e com elevadas precisão e acurácia são legalmente aceites para a estimativa de idade de menores vivos. O método de Cameriere é um método de avaliação da idade dentária radiológico legalmente aceite e já validado em variadas populações, para as quais foram criadas equações de regressão específicas. Não existindo nenhum método de estimativa da idade de menores que tenha sido desenvolvido com base em amostras moçambicanas, a presente dissertação visou, precisamente, fazê-lo, nomeadamente testando o método de Cameriere et al. (2006) na estimativa da idade em crianças Moçambicanas. Para o efeito, analisou-se uma amostra de 120 ortopantomografias (OPTs) realizadas entre 2014 e 2020 na clínica DentalCare em Moçambique. As OPTs pertencem a pacientes da clínica (78 masculinos e 42 femininos) com idades entre os 6 e 16 anos. Foram testadas as equações de regressão de Cameriere et al. (2006) desenvolvida com base numa amostra italiana e de Angelakopoulos et al. (2019) desenvolvida com base numa amostra sul-africana. O objetivo era assim validar as equações de Cameriere et al (2006) e, mediante os resultados, desenvolver equações específicas para Moçambique. A equação de Cameriere apresentou diferenças significativas (p0.05), tendo subestimado a idade dos rapazes e das raparigas em apenas -0.63 e -0.36 anos, respetivamente. A equação de regressão para a amostra moçambicana foi criada com base na regressão linear múltipla e nesta equação não foram verificadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os sexos. Concluiu-se que o método de Cameriere adaptado, ou seja, a equação de regressão obtida na presente investigação, é aplicável nos menores moçambicanos entre 6 e 16 anos de idade. Porém, mais estudos são recomendados com uma amostra maior, abrangendo as três regiões de Moçambique (sul, centro e norte) e, também, com uma faixa etária mais alargada não só para a validação imprescindível do modelo criado neste estudo, como também para melhorar a sua acurácia.Estimating age in sub-adults is essential in decision-making regarding adoption, criminal liability of alleged minors, child labor, political asylum requests, prostitution, child pornography, among others. Forensic Anthropology has played an important role in age estimation of sub-adults. Non-invasive methods based on dental and bone ages with high accuracy and precision are legally accepted in age determination of living sub-adults. The Cameriere method of dental-age estimation is a radiographic method that is legally accepted for estimating the age of living minors and has been validated in several regions, resulting in the creation of population-specific regression models. Nevertheless, a model is yet to be developed for Mozambique. This dissertation aims to validate the applicability of the method of Cameriere in the age estimation of Mozambican minors and to formulate a regression model specific to this population. The Cameriere method is tested by comparing a sample of the subadult population of Mozambique with the original regression model developed by Cameriere et al. (2006) from an Italian population and an adapted model developed by Angelakopoulos et al. (2019) from a South African population. This sample consists of 120 orthopantomographs (OPT) of 78 males and 42 females aged between 6 and 16 years, carried out between 2014 and 2020 at the DentalCare clinic located in Maputo, Mozambique. Data analysis revealed that the age estimated by Cameriere et al. (2006)’s model was significantly different from the real age with age underestimated by 1.288 in males and 0.671 years in females, while Angelakopoulos et al. (2019)’s model was not significantly different with age underestimated by -0.63 in males and -0.36 years in females. The Mozambican multiple linear regression model, adapted from the Carmeriere method, was successfully created and no significant difference between sexes was found. It is concluded that this model is applicable to the Mozambican population aged between 6 and 16 years old. However, more studies with larger samples and broader age groups, covering the three Mozambican regions (south, center and north), are recommended not only to validate the model created in this study, but also to improve its accuracy.Outro - A presente dissertação foi financiada pela fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (2019-Bolsas de Pós-Graduação Destinadas a Estudantes dos PALOP e Timor-Leste. A bolsa cobria as despesas de viagens Moçambique-Portugal-Moçambique, propinas até 1500 euros, subsídio mensal até 3 meses, e assistência médica e medicamentosa. Fi concedido a bolsa em 2018 e termina precisamente neste ano letivo (2019/2020)

Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotopes in modern tooth enamel: a case study from Gorongosa National Park, central Mozambique

The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in animal tissues are powerful tools for reconstructing the feeding behavior of individual animals and characterizing trophic interactions in food webs. Of these biomaterials, tooth enamel is the hardest, most mineralized vertebrate tissue and therefore least likely to be affected by chemical alteration (i.e., its isotopic composition can be preserved over millions of years), making it an important and widely available archive for biologists and paleontologists. Here, we present the first combined measurements of δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O in enamel from the teeth of modern fauna (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores) from the well-studied ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in central Mozambique. We use two novel methods to produce high-precision stable isotope enamel data: (i) the “oxidation-denitrification method,” which permits the measurement of mineral-bound organic nitrogen in tooth enamel (δ15Nenamel), which until now, has not been possible due to enamel’s low organic content, and (ii) the “cold trap method,” which greatly reduces the sample size required for traditional measurements of inorganic δ13Cenamel and δ18Oenamel (from ≥0.5 to ≤0.1 mg), permitting analysis of small or valuable teeth and high-resolution serial sampling of enamel. The stable isotope results for GNP fauna reveal important ecological information about the trophic level, dietary niche, and resource consumption. δ15Nenamel values clearly differentiate trophic level (i.e., carnivore δ15Nenamel values are 4.0‰ higher, on average, than herbivores), δ13Cenamel values distinguish C3 and/or C4 biomass consumption, and δ18Oenamel values reflect local meteoric water (δ18Owater) in the park. Analysis of combined carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope data permits geochemical separation of grazers, browsers, omnivores, and carnivores according to their isotopic niche, while mixed-feeding herbivores cannot be clearly distinguished from other dietary groups. These results confirm that combined C, N, and O isotope analyses of a single aliquot of tooth enamel can be used to reconstruct diet and trophic niches. Given its resistance to chemical alteration, the analysis of these three isotopes in tooth enamel has a high potential to open new avenues of research in (paleo)ecology and paleontology

A missing piece of the Papio puzzle: Gorongosa baboon phenostructure and intrageneric relationships

Most authors recognize six baboon species: hamadryas (Papio hamadryas), Guinea (Papio papio), olive (Papio anubis), yellow (Papio cynocephalus), chacma (Papio ursinus), and Kinda (Papio kindae). However, there is still debate regarding the taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships, and the amount of gene flow occurring between species. Here, we present ongoing research on baboon morphological diversity in Gorongosa National Park (GNP), located in central Mozambique, south of the Zambezi River, at the southern end of the East African Rift System. The park exhibits outstanding ecological diversity and hosts more than 200 baboon troops. Gorongosa National Park baboons have previously been classified as chacma baboons (P. ursinus). In accordance with this, two mtDNA samples from the park have been placed in the same mtDNA Glade as the northern chacma baboons. However, GNP baboons exhibit morphological features common in yellow baboons (e.g., yellow fur color), suggesting that parapatric gene flow between chacma and yellow baboons might have occurred in the past or could be ongoing. We investigated the phenostructure of the Gorongosa baboons using two approaches: 1) description of external phenotypic features, such as coloration and body size, and 2) 3D geometric morphometric analysis of 43 craniofacial landmarks on 11 specimens from Gorongosa compared to a pan-African sample of 352 baboons. The results show that Gorongosa baboons exhibit a mosaic of features shared with southern P. cynocephalus and P. ursinus griseipes. The GNP baboon phenotype fits within a geographic clinal pattern of replacing allotaxa. We put forward the hypothesis of either past and/or ongoing hybridization between the gray-footed chacma and southern yellow baboons in Gorongosa or an isolation-by-distance scenario in which the GNP baboons are geographically and morphologically intermediate. These two scenarios are not mutually exclusive. We highlight the potential of baboons as a useful model to understand speciation and hybridization in early human evolution. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society [GEFNE169-16]John Fell FundPhilip Leverhulme Prize [PLP-2016-114]Vicerrectoria de Investigacion, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Concurso Estadias y Pasantiias Breves 2016St Hugh's College, University of OxfordFoundation for Science and TechnologyPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BPD/88496/2012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding biogeographic arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here we report discovery of the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, at the southern East African Rift System. We provide the first 1) radiometric age determinations of the fossiliferous Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of past vegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) description of fossil teeth from the southern rift. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift System in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossil vertebrates including new species. Further work will allow the testing of hypotheses positing the formation of a northeast-southwest arid corridor isolating species on the eastern coastal forests from those elsewhere in Africa. Brief The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems encompassing hominine origins and the establishment of an arid corridor that isolated eastern Africa’s coastal forests. Until now, however, Miocene sites from southeastern Africa have been unknown. We report the discovery of the first Miocene fossil sites from Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, and show that these sites formed in coastal settings. We provide radiometric ages for the fossiliferous sediments, reconstructions of past vegetation based on stable isotopes and fossil wood, and a description of the first fossil teeth from the region. Gorongosa is the only paleontological site in the East African Rift that combines fossil woods, marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, and terrestrial mammals. Gorongosa offers the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

Summary: The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species