Ontogenetic niche shifts occur across diverse taxonomic groups, and can have critical implications for population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function. In this study, we provide a hypothesis-testing framework combining univariate and multivariate analyses to examine ontogenetic niche shifts using stable isotope ratios. This framework is based on three distinct ontogenetic niche...

There were three negative seawater strontium-isotope excursions (shifts to lower Sr/Sr values) during the Jurassic and Cretaceous that were of relatively short duration (5-13 my) and showed a relatively quick recovery to pre-excursion Sr/Sr ratios. These excursions occurred in the Pliensbachian-Toarcian (Early Jurassic), Aptian-Albian, and Cenomanian-Santonian (Early and Late Cretaceous respect...

Archeological researches have proposed arguments for human mobility and long-distance trading over the Eurasia before the Silk Roads. Here we utilize biologically available strontium isotope analysis to assess the extent of pre-Silk Road population movements and cultural communications across the Asian interior. From an early Iron Age cemetery (ca. 2500 yr B.P.) on the eastern Pamir Plateau, me...

Stable isotope geochemistry is a branch of geology that investigates the age of natural materials, their origin and the processes they have undergone since formation [1]. Stable isotope analysis is also used in biogeochemical studies to monitor element cycling in ecosystems [2] and to identify geographical/regional differences for food provenance and archaeology. Of the elements of interest in ...

Strontium isotopes are a powerful tool which provide information about provenance directly from the tissues of humans rather than the grave context and burial goods. Geographical variation in strontium isotopes is primarily controlled by the underlying geology but there are many other factors that need to be considered before migratory individuals can be identified. Consequently, despite many s...

In this editorial, we provide a brief introduction and summarize the 10 research articles included in this Special Issue on Applications of stable isotope analysis in mammalian ecology. The first three articles report correction and discrimination factors that can be used to more accurately estimate the diets of extinct and extant mammals using stable isotope analysis. The remaining seven appli...