Experimental evidence shows no fractionation of strontium isotopes ((87)Sr/(86)Sr) among soil, plants, and herbivores: implications for tracking wildlife and forensic science

Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies
D T Tyler FlockhartD Ryan Norris

Abstract

Strontium isotopes ((87)Sr/(86)Sr) can be useful biological markers for a wide range of forensic science applications, including wildlife tracking. However, one of the main advantages of using (87)Sr/(86)Sr values, that there is no fractionation from geological bedrock sources through the food web, also happens to be a critical assumption that has never been tested experimentally. We test this assumption by measuring (87)Sr/(86)Sr values across three trophic levels in a controlled greenhouse experiment. Adult monarch butterflies were raised on obligate larval host milkweed plants that were, in turn, grown on seven different soil types collected across Canada. We found no significant differences between (87)Sr/(86)Sr values in leachable Sr from soil minerals, organic soil, milkweed leaves, and monarch butterfly wings. Our results suggest that strontium isoscapes developed from (87)Sr/(86)Sr values in bedrock or soil may serve as a reliable biological marker in forensic science for a range of taxa and across large geographic areas.

References

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Citations

Nov 14, 2018·Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM·Dominic AndersMarina Vohberger
Sep 7, 2018·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Dharmendra K GuptaClemens Walther
Feb 20, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Nicolas BourgonThomas Tütken
Apr 19, 2017·Movement Ecology·D T Tyler FlockhartD Ryan Norris
Jun 16, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Adam F Wallace
Dec 19, 2020·Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM·Cecilia KruszynskiChristian C Voigt
Sep 20, 2018·Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·Agnese AguzzoniFrancesca Scandellari
Aug 28, 2021·Foods·Staša Hamzić GregorčičTea Zuliani
Nov 4, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Woo-Jin ShinKwang-Sik Lee
Nov 9, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·J A KidderR J Bowell

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
soil

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