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Holocene changes in the trophic ecology of an apex marine predator in the South Atlantic Ocean

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Abstract

Predators may modify their diets as a result of both anthropogenic and natural environmental changes. Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon in bone collagen have been used to reconstruct the foraging ecology of South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean since the Middle Holocene, a region inhabited by hunter-gatherers by millennia and modified by two centuries of whaling, sealing and fishing. Results suggest that the isotopic niche of fur seals from Patagonia has not changed over the last two millennia (average for the period: δ13C2200-0BP = −13.4 ± 0.5‰, δ15N2200-0BP = 20.6 ± 1.1‰). Conversely, Middle Holocene fur seals fed more pelagically than their modern conspecifics in the Río de la Plata region (δ13C7000BP = −15.9 ± 0.6‰ vs. δ13CPRESENT = −13.5 ± 0.8‰) and Tierra del Fuego (δ13C6400-4300BP = −15.4 ± 0.5‰ vs. δ13CPRESENT = −13.2 ± 0.7‰). In the latter region, Middle Holocene fur seals also fed at a higher trophic level than their modern counterparts (δ15N6400-4300BP = 20.5 ± 0.5‰ vs. δ15NPRESENT = 19.0 ± 1.6‰). Nevertheless, a major dietary shift was observed in fur seals from Tierra del Fuego during the nineteenth century (δ13C100BP = −17.2 ± 0.3‰, δ15N100BP = 18.6 ± 0.7‰), when marine primary productivity plummeted and the fur seal population was decimated by sealing. Disentangling the relative roles of natural and anthropogenic factors in explaining this dietary shift is difficult, but certainly the trophic position of fur seals has changed through the Holocene in some South Atlantic regions.

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Acknowledgements

This article is dedicated to the memory of R. Natalie P. Goodall, deceased during the preparation of the manuscript. Archaeological samples from La Olla 1 and Barrio Las Dunas sites were kindly provided by Gustavo Politis (INCUAPA-UNCPBA-CONICET and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata) and Cristina Bayón (Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca), whereas archaeological remains from northern and central Patagonia sites were kindly supplied by Julieta Gómez Otero and Eduardo Moreno (IDEAus-CCT CONICET-CENPAT). Modern samples of fur seals from Brazil were collected and provided by the members of Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS). The authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions that helped greatly to improve the manuscript. We also thank Ross Barnett (University of Copenhagen, Centre for GeoGenetics, Geologic Museum) for reviewing the English language of the manuscript. The map presented in this paper is courtesy of SEATURTLE.ORG (information is available at www.seaturtle.org). This research article is part of the PhD thesis of D.G.V. At the time this manuscript was written, D.G.V. was supported by the Fellowship Program from the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET) and F.S. was supported by a Fellowship from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain). This research was funded by Fundación BBVA through the project “Efectos de la explotación humana sobre depredadores apicales y la estructura de la red trófica del Mar Argentino durante los últimos 6.000 años” (BIOCON 08-194/09 2009-2011); Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT No 2110) and the Zoo d’Amneville, France.

Author contribution statement

DGV, LC and EAC conceived and designed the experiments. DGV, AFZ, FB, FS, RNPG, LRO and EAC conducted fieldwork. DGV, AFZ and FS performed the experiments. DGV, LC and FS analysed the data. DGV and LC wrote the manuscript, with contributions from all authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Marine Mammals, Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR–CCT CONICET–CENPAT), Blvd. Brown 2915, 9120, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    Damián G. Vales & Enrique A. Crespo

  2. IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Luis Cardona & Fabiana Saporiti

  3. IRBio, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Luis Cardona & Fabiana Saporiti

  4. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Bernardo Houssay 200, 9410, Ushuaia, Argentina

    Atilio F. Zangrando & R. Natalie P. Goodall

  5. Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano (INCUAPA-CONICET), and Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, UNCPBA, Avenida del Valle 5737, B7400JWI, Olavarría, Argentina

    Florencia Borella

  6. Museo Acatushún de Aves y Mamíferos Marinos Australes, Sarmiento 44, 9410, Ushuaia, Argentina

    R. Natalie P. Goodall

  7. Laboratory of Mammal Ecology, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Av. Unisinos 950, São Leopoldo, 93022-000, Brazil

    Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

  8. Study Group of Aquatic Mammals from Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Av. Tramandaí 976, Imbé, 95625-000, Brazil

    Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

  9. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia, Blvd. Brown 3600, 9120, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    Enrique A. Crespo

Authors
  1. Damián G. Vales
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  2. Luis Cardona
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  3. Atilio F. Zangrando
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  4. Florencia Borella
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  5. Fabiana Saporiti
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  6. R. Natalie P. Goodall
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  7. Larissa Rosa de Oliveira
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  8. Enrique A. Crespo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Damián G. Vales.

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Additional information

Communicated by Helene Marsh.

R. Natalie P. Goodall: deceased.

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Vales, D.G., Cardona, L., Zangrando, A.F. et al. Holocene changes in the trophic ecology of an apex marine predator in the South Atlantic Ocean. Oecologia 183, 555–570 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3781-4

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