SOURCE-AREA DETERMINATION OF ELEPHANT IVORY BY ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS

被引：160

作者：

VANDERMERWE, NJ

LEETHORP, JA

THACKERAY, JF

HALLMARTIN, A

KRUGER, FJ

COETZEE, H

BELL, RHV

LINDEQUE, M

机构：

[1] HARVARD UNIV,DEPT ANTHROPOL,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138

[2] HARVARD UNIV,DEPT EARTH & PLANETARY SCI,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138

[3] NATL PK BOARD,SKUKUZA 1350,SOUTH AFRICA

[4] UNIV WITWATERSRAND,BERNARD PRICE INST GEOPHYS RES,JOHANNESBURG 2050,SOUTH AFRICA

[5] INTEGRATED RURAL DEV PROGRAMME,CHIPATA,ZAMBIA

[6] ETOSHA ECOL UNIT,OUTJO,NAMIBIA

来源：

NATURE | 1990年 / 346卷 / 6286期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1038/346744a0

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

RECENT international efforts to conserve the African elephant Loxodonta africana prompted us to seek an appropriate method for determining the area from which individual tusks were derived. Trace element analysis of ivory has indicated the potential of chemical analysis for source identification1, but recent isotopic studies of African mammals2-5 suggest another approach. Stable carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) in elephant bone collagen clearly reflect the mixture of C3 foliage and C4 grasses in the diet, and are directly proportional to the density of C3 browse2. Furthermore, nitrogen isotope ratios (15N/14N) in bone collagen of African mammals are related to rainfall or water stress3-5. Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in bone or ivory can be expected to reflect local geology6,7. Here we report on a study of ivory and bone samples from different regions of Africa demonstrating the feasibility of trivariate isotopic analysis to identify the area in which an elephant lived, thus providing a potentially powerful tool for the control of illegal trading in ivory. © 1990 Nature Publishing Group.

引用

页码：744 / 746

页数：3

共 15 条

[1] THE ISOTOPIC ECOLOGY OF EAST-AFRICAN MAMMALS [J].