Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:01:06.434Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paleontology and paleoecology of guano deposits in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Chris Widga  and
Mona Colburn
Chris Widga*
Affiliation:
Geology Section, Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, 1011 E. Ash St., Springfield, IL 62703, USA
Mona Colburn
Affiliation:
Geology Section, Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, 1011 E. Ash St., Springfield, IL 62703, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:cwidga@museum.state.il.us (C.Widga).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Bat guano deposits are common in the Mammoth Cave system (Kentucky, USA). Paleontological remains associated with these deposits are important records of local landscape changes. Recent excavations in the cave suggest that vertebrate remains in most of these deposits are dominated by Chiroptera. Although no extinct fauna were identified, the presence of a large roost of Tadarida brasiliensis in the Chief City section is beyond the northern extent of its current range suggesting that this deposit dates to an undetermined interglacial period. Stable isotope analyses of Tadarida-associated guano indicate a C3 prey signature characteristic of forested habitat. This was unexpected since this species is typically associated with open environments. Further ecomorphological analysis of wing shape trends in interglacial, Holocene, and historic-aged assemblages indicate that interglacial faunas are dominated by fast-flying, open-space taxa (T. brasiliensis) while late Holocene and Historic assemblages contain more taxa that utilized closed forest or forest gaps.

Keywords

CavesKentuckyChiropteraStable isotopesEcomorphologyBat guano
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 83 , Issue 3 , May 2015 , pp. 427 - 436
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

Ahler, S.R. (2012). Archaeological and paleontological investigations of selected trail segments in Mammoth Cave and Great Onyx Cave, Edmonson County, Kentucky. University of Kentucky Program for Archaeological Research, Technical Report No. 714 .Google Scholar
Bailey, V. (1933). Cave life of Kentucky, mainly in the Mammoth Cave Region. American Midland Naturalist 14, 5 385–635.Google Scholar
Barbour, R.W., and Davis, W.H. (1974). Mammals of Kentucky. University of Kentucky Press, Lexington.Google Scholar
Barquez, R., Diaz, M., Gonzalez, E., Rodriguez, A., Incháustegui, S., and Arroyo-Cabrales, J. (2008). Tadarida brasiliensis . IUCN 2014, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Version 2014.1. < www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 June 2014).Google Scholar
Baskin, J.M., Baskin, C.C., and Chester, E.W. (1994). The Big Barrens Region of Kentucky and Tennessee: further observations and considerations. Castanea 59, 3 226–254.Google Scholar
Batina, M.C., and Reese, C.A. (2011). A Holocene pollen record recovered from a guano deposit: Round Spring Cavern, Missouri, USA. Boreas 40, 2 332–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, L.N. (1997). A Guide to the Mammals of the Southeastern United States. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Choate, J.R., Knox Jones, J. Jr., and Jones, C. (1994). Handbook of Mammals of the South-Central States. Louisiana State University Press, .Google Scholar
Colburn, M.L. (2005). Paleontological inventory project: vertebrate remains found in select passages and caves at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. Illinois State Museum Landscape History Program, Technical Report No. 2005-1199-007 .Google Scholar
Colburn, M., Toomey III, R., Widga, C., Olson, R. Holocene paleontology of Bat Cave, Edmonsen County, Kentucky, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (in press).Google Scholar
Crothers, G.M., Faulkner, C.H., Simek, J.F., Watson, P.J., and Willey, P. (2002). Woodland Cave archaeology in Eastern North America. Anderson, D.G., Mainfort, R.C. The Woodland Southeast University of Alabama Press, Birmingham.502–524.Google Scholar
Curry, B.B., and Baker, R.G. (2000). Palaeohydrology, vegetation, and climate since the late Illinois episode (~ 130 ka) in south-central Illinois. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155, 59–81.Google Scholar
Dean, W.E. (1974). Determination of carbonate and organic matter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary rocks by loss on ignition: comparison with other methods. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 44, 242–248.Google Scholar
Denevan, W.M. (1992). The pristine myth: the landscape of the Americas in 1492. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, 369–385.Google Scholar
Deniro, M.J., and Epstein, S. (1978). Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42, 5 495–506.Google Scholar
Drucker, D.G., and Bocherens, H. (2009). Carbon stable isotopes of mammal bones as tracers of canopy development and habitat use in temperate and boreal contexts. Creighton, J., Roney, P. Forest Canopies: Forest Production, Ecosystem Health, and Climate Conditions Nova Science Publishers, 103–109.Google Scholar
Eads, R.B., Wiseman, J.S., Grimes, J.E., and Menzies, G.C. (1955). Wildlife rabies in Texas: a preliminary report. Public Health Reports 70, 10 995–1000.Google Scholar
Fenolio, D.B., Graening, G.O., Collier, B.A., and Stout, J.F. (2006). Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander: the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences 273, 1585 439–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenton, M.B. (1970). Population studies of Myotis lucifugus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Ontario. Life Sciences Contributions, Royal Ontario Museum 77, 1–34.Google Scholar
Fletcher, M. S. . (1982). Microbial ecology of a bat guano community. Unpublished MS Thesis . Southwest Missouri State University, . Springfield., MO.Google Scholar
Frank, E.F., and Benson, R. (1998). Vertebrate paleontology of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 60, 103–106.Google Scholar
Gaudin, T.J., Miller, A.N., Bramblett, J.L., and Wilson, T.P. (2011). Holocene and Late Pleistocene bat fossils (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Hamilton County, TN, and their ecological implications. Southeastern Naturalist 10, 4 609–628.Google Scholar
Goodpaster, W., and Hoffmeister, D.F. (1950). Bats as prey for mink in Kentucky cave. Journal of Mammalogy 31, 4 457.Google Scholar
Harmon, R.S., Schwarcz, H.P., and Ford, D.C. (1978). Stable isotope geochemistry of speleothems and cave waters from the Flint Ridge"Mammoth Cave System, Kentucky: implications for terrestrial climate change during the period 230,000 to 100,000 years B.P.. Journal of Geology 86, 373–384.Google Scholar
Harvey, M.J., Altenbach, J.S., and Best, T.L. (2011). Bats of the United States and Canada. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.Google Scholar
Hobson, K., Wassenaar, L.I., and Taylor, O.R. (1999). Stable isotopes (?D and ?13C) are geographic indicators of natal origins of monarch butterflies in eastern North America. Oecologia 120, 3 397–404.Google Scholar
Jegla, T.C., and Hall, J.S. (1962). A Pleistocene deposit of the free-tailed bat in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Journal of Mammalogy 43, 4 477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lacki, M.J., Burford, L.S., Whitaker, J.O. Jr. (1995). Food habits of gray bats in Kentucky. Journal of Mammalogy 76, 4 1256–1259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Y.F., and McCracken, G.F. (2005). Dietary variation of Brazilian free-tailed bats links to migratory populations of pest insects. Journal of Mammalogy 86, 1 67–76.Google Scholar
Maher, L.J. Jr. (2006). Environmental information from guano palynology of insectivorous bats of the central part of the United States of America. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237, 1 19–31.Google Scholar
McFarlane, D.A., Keeler, R.C., and Mizutani, H. (1995). Ammonia volatilization in a Mexican bat cave ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 30, 1 1–8.Google Scholar
McFarlane, D.A., Lundberg, J., and Fincham, A.G. (2002). A late quaternary paleoecological record from caves of Southern Jamaica, West Indies. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 64, 2 117–125.Google Scholar
Miller, B. (2008). ?13C of Cave Speleothems Located in Kentucky and Ohio, U.S.A.: Implication for Paleovegetation and Paleoclimate. Unpublished M.S. Thesis, Bowling Green State University, KY..Google Scholar
Mizutani, H., McFarlane, D.A., and Kabaya, Y. (1992). Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of bat guanos as record of past environments. Mass Spectroscopy 40, 1 67–82.Google Scholar
Mumford, R.E. (1969). Long-tailed weasel preys on big brown bats. Journal of Mammalogy 50, 2 360.Google Scholar
Norberg, U. (1994). Wing design, flight performance, and habitat use in bats. Wainwright, Peter C., Reilly, Stephen M. Ecological Morphology: Integrative Organismal biology University of Chicago Press, 205–239.Google Scholar
Norberg, U., and Raynor, J.M. (1987). Ecological morphology and flight in bats (Mammalia; Chiroptera): wing adaptations, flight performance, foraging strategy and echolocation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 316, 1179 335–427.Google Scholar
Ostrom, P.H., Colunga-Garcia, M., and Gage, S.H. (1997). Establishing pathways of energy flow for insect predators using stable isotope ratios: field and laboratory evidence. Oecologia 109, 1 108–113.Google Scholar
Palmer, A.N. (1981). A Geological Guide to Mammoth Cave National Park. Zephyrus Press, Teaneck, NJ.210.Google Scholar
Ralls, K., and Harvey, P.H. (1985). Geographic variation in size and sexual dimorphism of North American weasels. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 25, 119–167.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Ramsey, C.B., Buck, C.E., Cheng, H., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Haflidason, H., Hajdas, I., Hatte, C., Heaton, T., Hoffmann, D., Gogg, A., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., Manning, S., Miu, M., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Scott, E.M., Southon, J.R., Staff, R.A., Turney, C.S.M., and van der Plicht, J. (2013). IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55, 4 1869–1887.Google Scholar
Saugey, D.A., Sasse, D.B., Wilhide, J.D., Reed, D., Jones, T.R., Heath, D.R., and England, D.R. (2001). Distribution of LeConte's free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis cyanocephala) in Arkansas, with notes on reproduction and natural history. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 55, 137–147.Google Scholar
Schimmelmann, A. (2011). Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios in chitin. Gupta, Neal S. Chitin Topics in Geobiology.34, Springer, The Netherlands.81–102.Google Scholar
Schimmelmann, A., and Deniro, M.J. (1985). Stable isotopic studies on chitin, measurements on chitin/chitosan isolates and D-glucosamine hydrochloride from chitin. Muzzarelli, R., Jeuniaux, C., Gooday, G.W. Chitin in Nature and Technology Plenum Press, New York.357–364.Google Scholar
Stankiewicz, A., Mastalerz, B.M., Hof, C.H., Bierstedt, A., Flannery, M.B., Briggs, D.E.G., and Evershed, R.P. (1998). Biodegradation of the chitin–protein complex in crustacean cuticle. Organic Geochemistry 28, 1 67–76.Google Scholar
Stimpson, C.M. (2012). Local scale, proxy evidence for the presence of closed canopy forest in north-western Borneo in the late Pleistocene: bones of Strategy I bats from the archaeological record of the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 331–332, 136–149.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J. (1993). Extended 14C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, 215–230.Google Scholar
Transeau, E.N. (1935). The Prairie Peninsula. Ecology 16, 3 423–437.Google Scholar
van der Merwe, N.J., and Medina, E. (1991). The canopy effect, carbon isotope ratios and foodwebs in Amazonia. Journal of Archaeological Science 18, 249–259.Google Scholar
Watson, P.J. (1997). Archaeology of the Mammoth Cave Area. Cave Books, St. Louis, MO.Google Scholar
Whitaker, J.O. Jr., Hamilton, W.J. Jr. (1998). Mammals of the Eastern United States. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.Google Scholar
Wilkins, K.T. (1989). Tadarida brasiliensis . Mammalian Species 331, 1–10.Google Scholar
Wright, J. (2008). History and current status of the allegheny woodrat. Peles, J.D., Wright, J. The Allegheny Woodrat Springer, New York.1–22.Google Scholar
Wurster, C.M., McFarlane, D.A., and Bird, M.I. (2007). Spatial and temporal expression of vegetation and atmospheric variability from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bat guano in the southern United States. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71, 3302–3310.Google Scholar
Wurster, C.M., Patterson, W.P., McFarlane, D.A., Wassenaar, L.I., Hobson, K.A., Athfield, N.B., and Bird, M.I. (2008). Stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes from bat guano in the Grand Canyon, USA, reveal Younger Dryas and 8.2 ka events. Geology 36, 9 683–686.Google Scholar
Wurster, C.M., Bird, M.I., Bull, I.D., Bryant, C., and Ascough, P. (2009). A protocol for radiocarbon dating tropical subfossil cave guano. Radiocarbon 51, 3 977–986.Google Scholar
Wurster, C.M., Bird, M.I., Bull, I.D., Creed, F., Bryant, C., Dungait, J.A., and Paz, V. (2010a). Forest contraction in north equatorial Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Period. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107, 35 15508–15511.Google Scholar
Wurster, C.M., Mcfarlane, D.A., and Beavan Athfield, N. (2010b). Stable isotopes of sub-fossil bat guano as a long-term environmental archive: insights from a Grand Canyon Cave deposit. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 72, 2 111–121.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Widga and Colburn supplementary material

Supplementary Material 1

Download Widga and Colburn supplementary material(File)
File 15.3 KB
Supplementary material: File

Widga and Colburn supplementary material

Supplementary Material 2

Download Widga and Colburn supplementary material(File)
File 17.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Widga and Colburn supplementary material

Supplementary Material 3

Download Widga and Colburn supplementary material(File)
File 16.1 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Widga and Colburn supplementary material

Supplementary Material 4

Download Widga and Colburn supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 9.1 MB