An Integrated and Comprehensive Model of 2H and 18O Isotope Composition in Primates

O'GRADY, SHANNON P; REMIEN, CHRISTOPHER H; ENRIGHT, LINDSEY E; VALENZUELA, LUCIANO O; CHESSON, LESLEY A; JORGENSEN, M; KAPLAN, J; WAGNER, J; CERLING, THURE E; EHLERINGER, JAMES R

Washington

Conferencia; Forensics Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Conference; 2010

The isotopic composition of drinking water and diet influence the isotopic composition of body water. In turn, body water influences the isotopic composition of organic matter in tissues, such as hair and teeth, which are used to reconstruct movement patterns of animals and humans. While predictive models of both the isotopic composition of body water and the isotopic composition of hair exist, they are independent and have yet to be coupled. Here we present an integrated model linking the isotopic composition of body water to that of hair. We use observations from two species of non-human primates to test the coupled model. Hair and plasma samples were obtained from Macaca fascicularis and Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus via the Wake Forest University Primate Center (WFUPC). Animals were maintained on three different, yet isocaloric, diets: a soy-protein based diet, a casein-protein based diet, and a standard chow diet. We analyzed the 2H and 18O isotope ratios of hair,water cryogenically extracted from plasma, all diet types, and drinking water. Measured isotope ratio values were then used to test the comprehensive and integrated model of 2H and 18O isotope ratios in these primates.