Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T02:14:24.430Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Environmental significance of 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios of modern land-snail shells from the southern great plains of North America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Meena Balakrishnan ,
Crayton J. Yapp ,
James L. Theler ,
Brian J. Carter  and
Don G. Wyckoff
Meena Balakrishnan
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0395, USA
Crayton J. Yapp*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0395, USA
James L. Theler
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Archaeology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA
Brian J. Carter
Affiliation:
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
Don G. Wyckoff
Affiliation:
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1 214 768 2701. E-mail address:cjyapp@mail.smu.edu (C.J. Yapp).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios of aragonite shells of modern land snails from the southern Great Plains of North America were measured for samples from twelve localities in a narrow east–west corridor that extended from the Flint Hills in North Central Oklahoma to the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico, USA. Across the study area, shell δ18O values (PDB scale) ranged from −4.1‰ to 1.2‰, while δ13C values ranged from −13.2‰ to 0.0‰. δ18O values of the shell aragonite were predicted with a published, steady state, evaporative flux balance model. The predicted values differed (with one exception) by less than 1‰ from locality averages of measured δ18O values. This similarity suggests that relative humidity at the time of snail activity is an important control on the δ18O values of the aragonite and emphasizes the seasonal nature of the climatic information preserved in the shells. Correlated δ13C values of coexisting Vallonia and Gastrocopta suggest similar feeding habits and imply that these genera can provide information on variations in southern Great Plains plant ecology. Although there is considerable scatter, multispecies, transect average δ13C values of the modern aragonite shells are related to variations in the type of photosynthesis (i.e., C3, C4) in the local plant communities. The results of this study emphasize the desirability of obtaining isotope ratios representing averages of many shells in a locale to reduce possible biases associated with local variations among individuals, species, etc., and thus better represent the “neighborhood” scale temporal and/or spatial environmental variations of interest in studies of modern and ancient systems.

Keywords

Land snailsOxygen isotopesCarbon isotopesClimateRelative humidityC3 plantsC4 plants
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 15 - 30
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balakrishnan, M., Yapp, C.J., (2004). Flux balance models for the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of land snail shells. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68, 2007–2024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, W.F., Hubbell, T.H., (1938). The biotic districts of Oklahoma. American Midland Naturalist 20, 425–455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, W.E., (1931). The vegetation of Oklahoma. Ecological Monographs 2, 100–188.Google Scholar
Carpenter, J.R., (1940). The grassland biome. Ecological Monographs 10, 617–684.Google Scholar
Cerling, T.E., Quade, J., (1993). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in soil carbonates. Swart, P.K., Lohman, K.C., McKenzie, J., Savin, S., Climate change in continental isotopic records Geophysical Monograph vol. 78, American Geophysical Union, Washington., 217–231.Google Scholar
Cook, A., (1979). Homing in the gastropoda. Malacologia 18, 315–318.Google Scholar
Cowie, R.H., (1984). The life-cycle and productivity of the land snail Theba pisana (Mollusca: Helicidae). Journal of Animal Ecology 53, 311–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, H., (1957). Isotopic standard for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass spectrometric analysis of carbon dioxide. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 12, 133–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, M.W., Maddox, R.A., Howard, K., (1993). The Mexican monsoon. Journal of Climate 6, 1665–1677.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., (1964). Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16, 436–469.Google Scholar
Edelstam, C., Palmer, C., (1950). Homing behaviour in gastropods. Okios 2, 259–270.Google Scholar
Ehleringer, J.R., Cerling, T.E., Helliker, B.R., (1997). C4 photosynthesis, atmospheric CO2, and climate. Oecologia 112, 285–299.Google Scholar
Elliot, R.D., (1949). Forecasting the weather—The weather types of North America. Weatherwise 2, 15–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francey, R.J., (1983). A comment on 13C/12C in land snail shells. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 63, 142–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gelperin, A., (1974). Olfactory basis of homing in the giant garden slug, Limax maximus . Proceedings of the National Academy of Science United States of America 71, 966–970.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Ellis, G.L., (2002). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic variations in modern Rabdotus land snail shell in the southern Great Plains, USA, and their relation to environment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66, 1987–2002.Google Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Hood, D.J., (1983). Carbon isotope analysis of land snail shells: implications for carbon sources and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon 25, 810–830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Magaritz, M., (1987). Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of shell carbonate of desert land snails. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 86, 377–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, G.A., Magaritz, M., Gat, J.R., (1989). Stable isotope composition of land snail body water and its relation to environmental waters and shell carbonate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 53, 3215–3221.Google Scholar
Grossman, E.L., Ku, T.-L., (1986). Oxygen and carbon isotope fractionation in biogenic aragonite: temperature effects. Chemical Geology 59, 59–74.Google Scholar
Heatwole, H., Heatwole, A., (1978). Ecology of the Puerto Rican Camaenid tree-snails. Malacologia 17, 241–315.Google Scholar
Kuchler, A.W., (1964). Potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. American Geographic Society Special Publication 36, .Google Scholar
Jacobs, B.F., Kingston, J.D., Jacobs, L.L., (1999). The origin of grass-dominated ecosystems. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gardens 86, 590–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lécolle, P., (1983). Relation entre les teneurs en 18O et 13C des tests de Gastéropodes terrestres et le climat océanique et alpin. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. Serie II 297, 863–866.Google Scholar
Lécolle, P., (1984). Influence de l'altitude en climat méditerranéen sur les teneurs en oxygéne-18 et carbone-13 des coquilles de Gastéropodes terrestres. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. Serie II 298, 211–214.Google Scholar
Lécolle, P., (1985). The oxygen isotope composition of land snail shells as a climatic indicator: applications to hydrogeology and paleoclimatology. Chemical Geology 58, 157–181.Google Scholar
Magaritz, M., Heller, J., (1980). A desert migration indicator-oxygen isotopic composition of land snail shells. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 32, 153–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magaritz, M., Heller, J., (1983). A comment of 13C/12C in land snail shells-reply. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 63, 144–145.Google Scholar
Magaritz, M., Heller, J., Volokita, M., (1981). Land-air boundary environment as recorded by the 18O/16O and 13C/12C isotope ration in the shells of land snails. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 52, 101–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrea, J.M., (1950). On the isotopic chemistry of carbonates and a paleotemperature scale. Journal of Chemical Physics 18, 849–857.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metref, S., Rousseau, D.-D., Bentaleb, I., Labonne, M., Vianey-Liaud, M., (2003). Study of the diet effect on δ13C of shell carbonate of the land snail Helix aspersa in experimental conditions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 211, 381–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nativ, R., Riggio, R., (1990). Precipitation in the Southern High Plains: meteorologic and isotopic features. Journal of Geophysical Research 95, 22559–22564.Google Scholar
Newell, P.F., (1966). The nocturnal behaviour of slugs. Medical Biology Illustrated 16, 146–159.Google Scholar
Ostlie, W.R., Schneider, R.E., Aldrich, J.M., Faust, T.M., McKim, R.L.B., Chaplin, S.J., (1997). The Status of Biodiversity in the Great Plains. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Owensby, C.E., Ham, J.M., Knapp, A.K., Bremer, D., Auen, L.M., (1997). Water vapour fluxes and their impact under elevated CO2 in a C4-tallgrass prairie. Global Change Biology 3, 189–195.Google Scholar
Risser, P.G., (1985). Grasslands. Chabot, B.F., Mooney, H.A., Physiological Ecology of North American Plant Communities Chapman and Hall, New York., 232–256.Google Scholar
Risser, P.G., (1990). Landscape processes and the vegetation of the North American grassland. Collins, S.L., Wallace, L.L., Fire in North American Tallgrass Prairies University of Oklahoma Press, Norman., 133–146.Google Scholar
Rossignol, J., Moine, O., Rousseau, D.-D., (2004). The Buzzard's Roost and Eustis mollusc sequences: comparison between the paleoenvironments of two sites in the Wisconsinan loess of Nebraska, USA. Boreas 33, 145–154.Google Scholar
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L., Gonfiantini, R., (1993). Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. Swart, P.K., Lohman, K.C., McKenzie, J., Savin, S., Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records Geophysical Monograph vol. 78, American Geophysical Union, Washington., 1–36.Google Scholar
Sage, R.F., Li, M., Monson, R.K., (1999). The taxonomic distribution of C4 photosynthesis. Sage, R.F., Monson, R.K., C4 Plant Biology Academic Press, 551–584.Google Scholar
Sharpe, S.E., Forester, R.M., Whelan, J.F., McConnaughey, T., (1994). Molluscs as climate indicators: preliminary stable isotope and community analyses. Proceedings of the 5th International High-level Radioactive Waste Management Conference and Exposition, Las Vegas, Nevada 2538–2544.Google Scholar
Shelford, V.E., (1963). The Ecology of North America. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.Google Scholar
Stott, L.D., (2002). The influence of diet on the δ13C of shell carbon in the pulmonate snail Helix aspersa . Earth and Planetary Science Letter 195, 249–259.Google Scholar
Theler, J.L., Wyckoff, D.G., Carter, B.J., (2004). The Southern Plains gastropod survey: the distribution of land snail populations in an American grassland environment. American Malacological Bulletin 18, 1/2 1–16.Google Scholar
Thompson, R., Cheny, S., (1996). Raising snails. National Agriculture Library Special Reference BriefsNAL SRB 96-05.Google Scholar
Tieszen, L., Reed, B.C., Bliss, N.B., Wylie, B.K., DeJong, D.D., (1997). NDVI, C3 and C4 production, and distribution in great plains grassland land cover classes. Ecological Applications 7, 59–78.Google Scholar
Van der Schalie, A., Getz, L.L., (1961). Comparison of adult and young Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis (lea) in respect to moisture requirements. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 80, 211–220.Google Scholar
Van der Schalie, A., Getz, L.L., (1963). Comparison of temperature and moisture responses of the snail genera Pomatiopsis and Oncomelania . Ecology 44, 73–83.Google Scholar
Ward, D., Slotow, R., (1992). The effects of water availability on the life history of the desert snail, Trochoidea seetzeni. An experimental field manipulation. Oecologia 90, 572–580.Google Scholar
Weaver, J.E., Albertson, F.W., (1956). Grasslands of the Great Plains: Their Nature and Use. Johnsen Publishing Co., Lincoln, NE.Google Scholar
Wells, G.P., (1944). The water relations of snails and slugs: III. Factors determining the activity of Helix pomatia L. Journal of Experimental Biology 44, 73–83.Google Scholar
Wyckoff, D.G., Theler, J.L., Carter, B.J., (1997). Southern Plains gastropods: modern occurrences, prehistoric implications. Final Report to the National Geographic Society46 pp.Google Scholar
Yapp, C.J., (1979). Oxygen and carbon isotope measurements of land snail shell carbonate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43, 629–635.Google Scholar
Yates, T.J.S., Spiro, B.F., Vita-Finzi, C., (2002). Stable isotope variability and the selection of terrestrial mollusk shell samples for 14C dating. Quaternary International 87, 87–100.Google Scholar