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Dietary niches of terrestrial cercopithecines from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Ethiopia: evidence from Dental Microwear Texture Analysis.

ABSTRACT: This study aims to explore the feeding ecology of two terrestrial papionins, Papio and Theropithecus from the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia, the most complete stratigraphic and paleontological record of the African Plio-Pleistocene. Two aspects were evaluated using Dental Microwear Texture Analysis: differences in diet between the extinct genera and their extant relatives, and any potential dietary fluctuations over time. Amongst more than 2,500 cercopithecid dental remains, 154 Theropithecus molars and 60 Papio molars were considered. Thirty-nine extant wild baboons and 20 wild geladas were also considered. The results show that diets of extinct monkeys from Member G already differed between genera as it is the case for their extant representatives. The shearing facets on the Theropithecus molars display significant variations in microwear textures, suggesting several dietary shifts over time. Two events point to higher intakes of herbaceous monocots (tougher than dicots foliages), at about 2.91 Ma (between members B and C) and at 2.32 Ma (between members E and F). These two events are separated by an inverse trend at about 2.53 Ma (between members C and D). Some of these variations, such as between members E and F are supported by the enamel carbon isotopic composition of herbivorous mammals and with paleovegetation evidence.

SUBMITTER: Martin F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6145942 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Dental microwear analyses are commonly used to deduce the diet of extinct mammals. Conventional methods rely on the user identifying features within a 2D image. However, recent interdisciplinary research has lead to the development of an advanced methodology that is free of observer error, based on the automated quantification of 3D surfaces by combining confocal microscopy with scale-sensitive fractal analysis. This method has already proved to be very efficient in detecting dietary differences between species. Focusing on a finer, intra-specific scale of analysis, the aim of this study is to test this method's ability to track such differences between individuals from a single population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: For the purposes of this study, the 3D molar microwear of 78 individuals from a well-known population of extant roe deer (Capreolus caprelous) is quantified. Multivariate statistical analyses indicate significant seasonal and sexual differences in individual dental microwear design. These are probably the consequence of seasonal variations in fruit, seed and leaf availability, as well as differences in feeding preference between males and females due to distinct energy requirements during periods of rutting, gestation or giving birth. Nevertheless, further investigations using two-block Partial Least-Squares analysis show no strong relationship between individual stomach contents and microwear texture. This is an expected result, assuming that stomach contents are composed of food items ingested during the last few hours whereas dental microwear texture records the physical properties of items eaten over periods of days or weeks. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Microwear 3D scale-sensitive fractal analysis does detect differences in diet ranging from the inter-feeding styles scale to the intra-population between-season and between-sex scales. It is therefore a possible tool, to be used with caution, in the further exploration of the feeding biology and ecology of extinct mammals.

Dataset Information

Dietary niches of terrestrial cercopithecines from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Ethiopia: evidence from Dental Microwear Texture Analysis.

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