DIET AND HABITAT FOR SIX AMERICAN PLEISTOCENE PROBOSCIDEAN SPECIES USING CARBON AND OXYGEN STABLE ISOTOPES
Abstract
Diet and habitat were estimated, based on stable isotopes, for six species of proboscideans inhabiting the Americas during the Pleistocene. In North America, Mammuthus columbi (Elephantidae) was a mixed C3/C4 herbivore inhabiting open areas, while Mammut americanum (Mammutidae) fed exclusively on C3 plants and preferred closed areas. In contrast, members of the family Gomphotheriidae showed a wide range of food preference and habitats. This is the case of Cuvieronius tropicus, a mixed-diet herbivore living in open areas. In South America, another gomphothere –Cuvieronius hyodon– inhabited open areas and had a C3-plant diet similar to others from some Southern plains such as Stegomastodon platensis. On the other hand, S. waringi from tropical South America lived in open areas and had a C3/C4 mixed diet. The fact that gomphotheres had more flexible diet habits could explain why those animals were able to cross the Panamanian Isthmus, while mammoths and mastodons did not. . Resumen. DIETA Y HABITAT DE SEIS ESPECIES DE PROBOSCIDIOS AMERICANOS USANDO ISOTOPOS ESTABLES DE CARBONO Y OXIGENO. Se presentan estimaciones de la dieta y el hábitat de los proboscídeos que habitaron América del Norte y del Sur durante el Pleistoceno, realizadas mediante isótopos estables. Mammuthus columbi (Elephantidae) fue un herbívoro de dieta mixta C3/C4 con un importante consumo de plantas C4 y habitante de zonas abiertas, mientras que Mammut americanum (Mammutidae) se alimentaba exclusivamente de plantas C3 y prefería las zonas cerradas. En contraste, los miembros de la familia Gomphotheriidae mostraban un amplio abanico de preferencias alimentarias y de hábitat. Así, Cuvieronius tropicus fue un herbívoro de dieta mixta y que habitaba zonas abiertas. Para América del Sur, otro gonfoterio, Cuvieronius hyodon, mostraba preferencias por plantas C3 y las zonas cerradas al igual que el pampeano Stegomastodon platensis. En cambio para S. waringi, procedente de zonas tropicales, su dieta era mixta C3/C4 y habitó en zonas abiertas. El que los gonfoterios hayan sido más flexibles en sus hábitos podría explicar por qué cruzaron el Istmo de Panamá, mientras que los mamutes y mastodontes no lo hicieron. Palabras clave.Downloads
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