Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-05-20T21:51:29.435Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Marine Bivalve Feeding Strategies and Radiocarbon Ages in Northeast Atlantic Coastal Waters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2019

Elena Lo Giudice Cappelli  and
William E N Austin
Elena Lo Giudice Cappelli*
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AL, Scotland, UK
William E N Austin
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AL, Scotland, UK Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Scotland, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: elgc@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Marine mollusk shells have been extensively used to provide radiocarbon (14C)-based chronologies in paleoenvironmental and archaeological studies, however uncertainties in age measurements are introduced because secondary factors such as vital effects and diet may influence 14C incorporation into these shells. Deep burrowing and deposit feeding mollusks, in particular, may incorporate “old” carbon resulting in apparently older ages than their contemporary environment. In this study, we present paired 14C and stable isotope (δ13C and δ18O) measurements for nine species of known-age bivalves having different feeding strategies and collected in six localities around the NE Atlantic. We exclude potential “old” carbon contamination in these known-age mollusk shells, acquire a better understanding of local ecology and provide an improved context for the environmental interpretation of 14C ages. Our results indicate that, in the NE Atlantic, marine mollusk-derived 14C ages provide a reliable basis for environmental and archaeological investigation, independently of vital effects and differences in microhabitats, feeding strategies and sample location—all of which are apparent from stable isotopes.

Keywords

dietmolluskspaleoecologyradiocarbon
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 107 - 125
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ascough, PL, Cook, GT, Dugmore, AJ, Scott, EM, Freeman, SPHT. 2005. Influence of mollusk species on marine ΔR determinations. Radiocarbon 47(3):433–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, WEN, Hibbert, FD, Rasmussen, SO, Peters, C, Abbott, PM, Bryant, CL. 2012. The synchronization of palaeoclimatic events in the North Atlantic region during Greenland Stadial 3 (ca 27.5 to 23.3kyr b2k). Quaternary Science Reviews 36:154–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balasse, M, Tresset, A, Dobney, K, Ambrose, SH. 2005. The use of isotope ratios to test for seaweed eating in sheep. Journal of Zoology 266(3):283–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batenburg, SJ, Reichart, GJ, Jilbert, T, Janse, M, Wesselingh, FP, Renema, W. 2011. Interannual climate variability in the Miocene: high resolution trace element and stable isotope ratios in giant clams. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 306(1–2):75–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, JM, Boyd, IL, Cox, M, Donald, AE, Malcolm, SJ, Miles, H, Miller, B, Moffat, CF, editors. 2011. Scotland’s Marine Atlas: information for the national marine plan. Edinburgh: Marine Scotland. p. 191.Google Scholar
Berkman, PA, Forman, SL. 1996. Pre-bomb radiocarbon and the reservoir correction for calcareous marine species in the Southern Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters 23(4):363–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cage, AG, Heinemeier, J, Austin, WEN. 2006. Marine radiocarbon reservoir ages in Scottish coastal and fjordic waters. Radiocarbon 48(1):31–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cefas. 2010a. Scottish Sanitary Survey Project Sanitary Survey Report Cromarty Shoremill / Cromarty Bay Mussels Report Distribution – Cromarty (March).Google Scholar
Cefas. 2010b. Scottish Sanitary Survey Project Sanitary Survey Report Loch Erisort: Outer February 2010 Report Distribution – Loch Erisort: Outer (February).Google Scholar
Cefas. 2010c. Scottish Sanitary Survey Project Sanitary Survey Report Report Distribution – Lower Gruting Voe (February).Google Scholar
Cefas. 2011. Scottish Sanitary Survey Project Sanitary Survey Report Loch Leurbost and Loch Leurbost: Crosbost March 2011 Report Distribution – Loch Leurbost and Loch Leurbost: Crosbost (March).Google Scholar
Cefas. 2013. Sanitary Survey Report Forth Estuary: Anstruther (March).Google Scholar
Dame, RF. 1996. Ecology of marine bivalves; an ecosystem approach. CRC Marine Science Series. doi: 10.1201/9781420049787CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeNiro, MJ, Epstein, S. 1978. Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta:495–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eiríksson, J, Larsen, G, Knudsen, KL, Heinemeier, J, Símonarson, LA. 2004. Marine reservoir age variability and water mass distribution in the Iceland Sea. Quaternary Science Reviews 23(20–22 SPEC. ISS.):2247–2268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
England, J, Dyke, AS, Coulthard, RD, Mcneely, R, Aitken, A. 2013. The exaggerated radiocarbon age of deposit-feeding molluscs in calcareous environments. Boreas 42(2):362–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ficken, KJ, Barber, KE, Eglinton, G. 1998. Lipid biomarker, δ13C and plant macrofossil stratigraphy of a Scottish montane peat bog over the last two millennia. Organic Geochemistry 28(3–4):217–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forman, S. L, Polyak, L. 1997. Radiocarbon content of pre-bomb marine mollusks and variations in the 14C reservoir age for coastal areas of the Barents and Kara seas, Russia. Geophysical Research Letters 24(8):885–888.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillespie, RG, Clague, DA. 2009. Encyclopedia of islands. 1st edition. University of California Press.Google Scholar
Gillikin, DP, Lorrain, A, Bouillon, S, Willenz, P, Dehairs, F. 2006. Stable carbon isotopic composition of Mytilus edulis shells: relation to metabolism, salinity, δ13CDIC and phytoplankton. Organic Geochemistry 37(10):1371–1382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillemette, F, Bianchi, TS, Spencer, RGM. 2017. Old before your time: Ancient carbon incorporation in contemporary aquatic foodwebs. Limnology and Oceanography 62(4):1682–1700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2015. 14C Variations in pre-bomb nearshore habitats of the Florida Panhandle, USA. Radiocarbon 57(3):469–479. doi: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18353CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2017a. Carbon reservoir effects in eastern oyster from Apalachicola Bay, USA. Radiocarbon 59(05):1497–1506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2017b. Spatiotemporal variability in ΔR in the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA. Radiocarbon 59(2):343–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harkness, DD. 1983. The extent of natural 14C deficiency in the coastal environment of the United Kingdom. In: Mook, WG, Waterbolk, HT, editors. Proceedings of the Symposium 14C and Archaeology. PACT 8:351–379.Google Scholar
Hogg, AG, Higham, TFG, Dahm, J. 1998. 14C dating of modern marine and estuarine shellfish. Radiocarbon 40(2):975–984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inall, M, Gillibrand, P, Griffiths, C, MacDougal, N, Blackwell, K. 2009. On the oceanographic variability of the North-West European Shelf to the west of Scotland. Journal of Marine Systems 77(3):210–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jull, AJT, Burr, GS, Hodgins, GWL. 2013. Radiocarbon dating, reservoir effects, and calibration. Quaternary International 299:64–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mangerud, J, Bondevik, S, Gulliksen, S, Karin Hufthammer, A, Høisæter, T. 2006. Marine 14C reservoir ages for 19th century whales and molluscs from the North Atlantic. Quaternary Science Reviews 25(23–24):3228–3245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marconi, M, Giordano, M, Raven, JA. 2011. Impact of taxonomy, geography, and depth on δ13C and δ15N Variation in a large collection of macroalgae. Journal of Phycology 47(5):1023–1035.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McConnaughey, TA, Gillikin, DP. 2008. Carbon isotopes in mollusk shell carbonates. Geo-Marine Letters 28(5–6):287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mettam, C, Johnson, ALA, Nunn, EV, Schöne, BR. 2014. Stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) sclerochronology of Callovian (Middle Jurassic) bivalves (Gryphaea (Bilobissa) dilobotes) and belemnites (Cylindroteuthis puzosiana) from the Peterborough Member of the Oxford Clay Formation (Cambridgeshire, England): Eviden. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 399:187–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petchey, F, Ulm, S, David, B, McNiven, IJ, Asmussen, B, Tomkins, H, Dolby, N, Aplin, K, Richards, T, Rowe, C, Leavesley, M, Mandui, H. 2013. High-resolution radiocarbon dating of marine materials in archaeological contexts: radiocarbon marine reservoir variability between Anadara, Gafrarium, Batissa, Polymesoda spp. and Echinoidea at Caution Bay, Southern Coastal Papua New Guinea. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 5(1):69–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reich, S, Warter, V, Wesselingh, FP, Zwaan, JC, Lourens, L, Renema, W. 2015. Paleoecological significance of stable isotope ratios in Miocene Tropical shallow marine habitats (Indonesia). Palaios 30(1):53–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, TC, Henkes, GA. 2014. Radiocarbon variability in Crassostrea virginica shells from the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Radiocarbon 56(01):305–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, TC, Henkes, GA, Lowery, DL, Colman, SM, Culleton, BJ. 2012. Marine radiocarbon reservoir corrections ΔR for Chesapeake Bay and the Middle Atlantic Coast of North America. Quaternary Research 77(1):205–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruppert, EE, Fox, RS, Barnes, RD. 2004. Invertebrate zoology: a functional evolutionary approach. Systematic Biology 53(4):662–664.Google Scholar
Schiener, P, Black, KD, Stanley, MS, Green, DH. 2014. The seasonal variation in the chemical composition of the kelp species Laminaria digitata, Laminaria hyperborea, Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta. Journal of Applied Phycology 27(1):363–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, MWI, Gleixner, G. 2005. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bulk soils, particle-size fractions and organic material after treatment with hydrofluoric acid. European Journal of Soil Science 56(3):407–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seidov, DOK, Baranova, TP, Boyer, SL, Cross, AV, Mishonov, AR, Parsons, JR, Reagan, KWW. 2018. Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Seas Regional Climatology version 2. NOAA/NCEI.Google Scholar
Sharma, T, Clayton, RN. 1965. Measurement of O18 O16 ratios of total oxygen of carbonates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 29(12):1347–1353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simstich, J, Erlenkeuser, H, Harms, I, Spielhagen, RF, Stanovoy, V. 2005a. Modern and Holocene hydrographic characteristics of the shallow Kara Sea shelf (Siberia) as reflected by stable isotopes of bivalves and benthic foraminifera. Boreas 34(3):252–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simstich, J,Harms, I, Karcher, M. J, Erlenkeuser, H, Stanovoy, V, Kodina, L, Bauch, D, Spielhagen, RF. 2005b. Recent freshening in the Kara Sea (Siberia) recorded by stable isotopes in Arctic bivalve shells. Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans 110(8):1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephen, AC. 1934. XXII.—Studies on the Scottish marine fauna: the natural faunistic divisions of the North Sea as shown by the quantitative distribution of the molluscs. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 57(03):601–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, N, Monaghan, MC, Rye, DM. 1986. Contribution of metabolic carbon to mollusc and barnacle shell carbonate. Nature 320(6062):520–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tebble, N. 1966. British bivalve seashells: a handbook for identification. London: British Museum (Natural History).Google Scholar
Tisnérat-Laborde, N, Paterne, M, Métivier, B, Arnold, M, Yiou, P, Blamart, D, Raynaud, S. 2010. Variability of the northeast Atlantic sea surface Δ14C and marine reservoir age and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Quaternary Science Reviews 29(19–20):2633–2646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, GK, Wilson, SR. 1978. Procedures for comparing and combining radiocarbon age determinations: a critique. Archaeometry 20(1):19–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warter, V, Muller, W, Wesselingh, FP, Todd, JA, Renema, W. 2015. Late Miocene seasonal to subdecadal climate variability in the Indo-West Pacific (east Kalimantan, Indonesia) preserved in giant clams. Palaios 30(1):66–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoneda, M, Kitagawa, H, van der Plicht, J, Uchida, M, Tanaka, A, Uehiro, T, Shibata, Y, Morita, M, Ohno, T. 2000. Pre-bomb marine reservoir ages in the western north Pacific: Preliminary result on Kyoto University collection. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 172(1–4):377–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yonge, M. 1939. The protobranchiate mollusca; a functional interpretation of their structure and evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 230(566):79–148.Google Scholar