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14C DATES AND STABLE ISOTOPE ECOLOGY OF MARINE VERTEBRATES IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE-EARLY HOLOCENE CHAMPLAIN SEA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2021

Robert S Feranec Open the ORCID record for Robert S Feranec [Opens in a new window] ,
Mario E Cournoyer  and
Andrew L Kozlowski
Robert S Feranec*
Affiliation:
New York State Museum, 3140 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY12230, USA
Mario E Cournoyer
Affiliation:
Musée de paléontologie et de l’évolution, 541 de la Congrégation, Montréal, QCH3K 2J1, Canada
Andrew L Kozlowski
Affiliation:
New York State Museum, 3140 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY12230, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: robert.feranec@nysed.gov
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Abstract

The late Pleistocene to early Holocene Champlain Sea provides a unique opportunity to study the development of marine ecosystems in a context of global climatic change. This study presents radiocarbon (14C) dates and stable isotope analyses on 15 vertebrate specimens from Champlain Sea sediments, including the Charlotte Whale, which is Vermont’s State marine fossil. Data are used in an attempt to investigate the timing of colonization and ecological dynamics in this newly formed sea. Using the average marine correction, 14C dates on four specimens likely calibrate prior to or possibly synchronous with the accepted origination date for the Champlain Sea, implying larger marine reservoir effects than the average marine correction in the vertebrate tissues. Without knowing the specific marine reservoir offsets, it is not possible to calculate the timing of colonization or its relation to concurrent climatic change. Observed lower δ13C and δ15N values in walruses, a fin whale, and a right whale support consumption of prey from lower trophic levels such as bivalve mollusks, krill, and copepods. Higher isotopic values in beluga whales and a bird, the thick-billed murre, support consuming fish, such as cod and capelin. These isotopic data show comparable values and relationships as observed in modern arctic marine ecosystems.

Keywords

Champlain SeachronologypaleoecologyPleistocenevertebrates
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 4: Featuring: CLARa Proceedings of the 1st Latin American Radiocarbon Conference , August 2021 , pp. 1259 - 1272
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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