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Deconvolution of isotope signals from bundles of multiple hairs

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Segmental analysis of hair has been used in diverse fields ranging from forensics to ecology to measure the concentration of substances such as drugs and isotopes. Multiple hairs are typically combined into a bundle for segmental analysis to obtain a high-resolution series of measurements. Individual hair strands cycle through multiple phases of growth and grow at different rates when in the growth phase. Variation in growth of hair strands in a bundle can cause misalignment of substance concentration between hairs, attenuating the primary body signal. We developed a mathematical model based on the known physiology of hair growth to describe the signal averaging caused by bundling multiple hairs for segmental analysis. The model was used to form an inverse method to estimate the primary body signal from measurements of a hair bundle. The inverse method was applied to a previously described stable oxygen isotope chronology from the hair of a murder victim and provides a refined interpretation of the data. Aspects of the reconstruction were confirmed when the victim was later identified.

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Acknowledgments

CHR conducted this work as a University of Utah Research Training Group Fellow through NSF award #EMSW21-RTG and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, an Institute sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of Agriculture through NSF Award #EF-0832858, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Christopher H. Remien

  2. Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Frederick R. Adler

  3. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Frederick R. Adler, Lesley A. Chesson, Luciano O. Valenzuela, James R. Ehleringer & Thure E. Cerling

  4. IsoForensics, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    Lesley A. Chesson, Luciano O. Valenzuela, James R. Ehleringer & Thure E. Cerling

  5. Department of Geology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Thure E. Cerling

Authors
  1. Christopher H. Remien
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  2. Frederick R. Adler
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  3. Lesley A. Chesson
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  4. Luciano O. Valenzuela
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  5. James R. Ehleringer
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  6. Thure E. Cerling
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Correspondence to Christopher H. Remien.

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Communicated by Hannu J. Ylonen.

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Remien, C.H., Adler, F.R., Chesson, L.A. et al. Deconvolution of isotope signals from bundles of multiple hairs. Oecologia 175, 781–789 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2945-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2945-3

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