Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation

Studies of climate variation commonly rely on chemical and isotopic changes recorded in sequentially produced growth layers, such as in corals, shells, and tree rings, as well as in accretionary deposits-ice and sediment cores, and speleothems. Oxygen isotopic compositions (delta O-18) of tooth enam...

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Main Authors: Smith, Tanya M., Arora, Manish, Austin, Christine, Nunes avila, Janaina, Duval, Mathieu, Lim, Tze Tshen, Piper, Philip J., Vaiglova, Petra, de Vos, John, Williams, Ian S., Zhao, Jian-xin, Green, Daniel R.
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Published: eLife Sciences Publications 2024
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Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/45468/
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90217
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spelling my.um.eprints.454682024-10-22T06:36:43Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/45468/ Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation Smith, Tanya M. Arora, Manish Austin, Christine Nunes avila, Janaina Duval, Mathieu Lim, Tze Tshen Piper, Philip J. Vaiglova, Petra de Vos, John Williams, Ian S. Zhao, Jian-xin Green, Daniel R. QE Geology Studies of climate variation commonly rely on chemical and isotopic changes recorded in sequentially produced growth layers, such as in corals, shells, and tree rings, as well as in accretionary deposits-ice and sediment cores, and speleothems. Oxygen isotopic compositions (delta O-18) of tooth enamel are a direct method of reconstructing environmental variation experienced by an individual animal. Here, we utilize long-forming orangutan dentitions (Pongo spp.) to probe recent and ancient rainfall trends on a weekly basis over similar to 3-11 years per individual. We first demonstrate the lack of any consistent isotopic enrichment effect during exclusive nursing, supporting the use of primate first molar teeth as environmental proxies. Comparisons of delta O-18 values (n=2016) in twelve molars from six modern Bornean and Sumatran orangutans reveal a high degree of overlap, with more consistent annual and bimodal rainfall patterns in the Sumatran individuals. Comparisons with fossil orangutan delta O-18 values (n=955 measurements from six molars) reveal similarities between modern and late Pleistocene fossil Sumatran individuals, but differences between modern and late Pleistocene/early Holocene Bornean orangutans. These suggest drier and more open environments with reduced monsoon intensity during this earlier period in northern Borneo, consistent with other Niah Caves studies and long-term speleothem delta O-18 records in the broader region. This approach can be extended to test hypotheses about the paleoenvironments that early humans encountered in southeast Asia. eLife Sciences Publications 2024-03 Article PeerReviewed Smith, Tanya M. and Arora, Manish and Austin, Christine and Nunes avila, Janaina and Duval, Mathieu and Lim, Tze Tshen and Piper, Philip J. and Vaiglova, Petra and de Vos, John and Williams, Ian S. and Zhao, Jian-xin and Green, Daniel R. (2024) Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation. eLife, 12. RP90217. ISSN 2050-084X, DOI https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90217 <https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90217>. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90217 10.7554/eLife.90217
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic QE Geology
spellingShingle QE Geology
Smith, Tanya M.
Arora, Manish
Austin, Christine
Nunes avila, Janaina
Duval, Mathieu
Lim, Tze Tshen
Piper, Philip J.
Vaiglova, Petra
de Vos, John
Williams, Ian S.
Zhao, Jian-xin
Green, Daniel R.
Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
description Studies of climate variation commonly rely on chemical and isotopic changes recorded in sequentially produced growth layers, such as in corals, shells, and tree rings, as well as in accretionary deposits-ice and sediment cores, and speleothems. Oxygen isotopic compositions (delta O-18) of tooth enamel are a direct method of reconstructing environmental variation experienced by an individual animal. Here, we utilize long-forming orangutan dentitions (Pongo spp.) to probe recent and ancient rainfall trends on a weekly basis over similar to 3-11 years per individual. We first demonstrate the lack of any consistent isotopic enrichment effect during exclusive nursing, supporting the use of primate first molar teeth as environmental proxies. Comparisons of delta O-18 values (n=2016) in twelve molars from six modern Bornean and Sumatran orangutans reveal a high degree of overlap, with more consistent annual and bimodal rainfall patterns in the Sumatran individuals. Comparisons with fossil orangutan delta O-18 values (n=955 measurements from six molars) reveal similarities between modern and late Pleistocene fossil Sumatran individuals, but differences between modern and late Pleistocene/early Holocene Bornean orangutans. These suggest drier and more open environments with reduced monsoon intensity during this earlier period in northern Borneo, consistent with other Niah Caves studies and long-term speleothem delta O-18 records in the broader region. This approach can be extended to test hypotheses about the paleoenvironments that early humans encountered in southeast Asia.
format Article
author Smith, Tanya M.
Arora, Manish
Austin, Christine
Nunes avila, Janaina
Duval, Mathieu
Lim, Tze Tshen
Piper, Philip J.
Vaiglova, Petra
de Vos, John
Williams, Ian S.
Zhao, Jian-xin
Green, Daniel R.
author_facet Smith, Tanya M.
Arora, Manish
Austin, Christine
Nunes avila, Janaina
Duval, Mathieu
Lim, Tze Tshen
Piper, Philip J.
Vaiglova, Petra
de Vos, John
Williams, Ian S.
Zhao, Jian-xin
Green, Daniel R.
author_sort Smith, Tanya M.
title Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
title_short Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
title_full Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
title_fullStr Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
title_full_unstemmed Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
title_sort oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation
publisher eLife Sciences Publications
publishDate 2024
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/45468/
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.90217
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