[en] The effects of biodegradation and heating on the stable carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of chitin in arthropods were studied. Chitinous exoskeletons from seven aquatic arthropod species were subjected to anaerobic marine biodegradation in mud, to terrestrial biodegradation in soils, and to thermal degradation under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The isotope ratios of chromatographically separated D-glucosamine hydrochloride and derivatives from treated and untreated specimens were then compared. Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope ratios were all found to be conserved during partial degradation of chitin. Micromorphological comparative studies using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that no fungal chitin or other contaminants were present in the chitins that were chemically isolated from biodegraded substrates. Our results indicate that it will be possible to use stable isotope ratios of archaeological chitin samples for environment and climatic reconstructions. An illustration of the utility of this approach comes from the observation that the stable isotope ratios of chitin from crustacean exoskeletons recovered from archaeological sites with ages up to 1400 years bp are in good agreement with measurements on modern crustaceans from similar environments.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Schimmelmann, Arndt; University of California, Los Angeles - UCLA > Earth and Space Sciences
DeNiro, Michael J.; University of California, Los Angeles - UCLA > Earth and Space Sciences
Poulicek, Mathieu ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Institut Ed. Van Beneden > Laboratoires de morphologie, systématique et écologie animales
Voss-Foucart, Marie-Françoise; Université de Liège - ULiège > Institut Ed. Van Beneden > Laboratoires de morphologie, systématique et écologie animales
Goffinet, Gerhard; Université de Liège - ULiège > Institut Ed. Van Beneden > Laboratoires de morphologie, systématique et écologie animales
Jeuniaux, Charles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Institut Ed. Van Beneden > Laboratoires de morphologie, systématique et écologie animales
Language :
English
Title :
Stable isotopic composition of chitin from arthropods recovered in archaeological contexts as palaeoenvironmental indicators
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