Utility of Isotopic Patterns in Mesozoic Tooth Enamel for Ecologic Reconstructions: A Pilot Study

牙釉质的同位素分析已被用于研究哺乳动物化石组合的饮食和生态变化以及陆地生态系统的同步变化，包括新近纪草原的扩展。然而，中生代生态系统的应用受到限制，因为这种方法应用于祖龙牙齿的效用还没有记录或证明。这项试点研究提出了测试的潜在有效性的氧和碳同位素从白垩纪牙釉质等研究，通过分析同位素模式的变异性内和之间的类群从一个单一的地方。这种方法允许在有限的时间和空间平均的情况下分析动物群。值的范围和类群之间的偏移的确定将表明如何有用的这些数据将在重建生态位划分在这些古老的环境。对第二地点的研究将有助于了解这些关系在空间和不同生境之间的一致性。该项目的成功完成将为了解白垩纪温室世界的生态关系开辟一条新的研究途径。该项目的完成将包括在课堂和实验室对本科生进行培训。学生（研究生和本科生）将学习分析这些牙齿结构的科学过程和一些具体技术，以及同位素分析和解释的过程。几个学期的课程项目将让学生参与这项研究，同时教授科学方法，探索新的主题和程序，所有这些都是在获得完成项目所需数据的过程中进行的。此外，大学与北卡罗来纳州自然科学博物馆的合作伙伴关系鼓励向北卡罗来纳州的公众和教室传播新的数据，见解和发现。该项目的成果也将导致在学术期刊上发表成果，但更重要的是将导致未来的建议和研究生态结构和生态与气候在地球历史上有趣和重要的时期的相关性。

Isotopic analyses of tooth enamel have been utilized to study changes in diet and ecology of fossil mammalian assemblages as well as concurrent changes in terrestrial ecosystems including the spread of grasslands in the Neogene. However, the application to Mesozoic ecosystems has been limited because the utility of such approaches applied to archosaur teeth have not been documented or justified. This pilot study proposes to test the potential effectiveness of oxygen and carbon isotopes from Cretaceous tooth enamel for such studies by analyzing the variability of isotopic patterns within and between taxa from a single locality. This method allows the analysis of a fauna with limited time and space averaging. Determination of the range of values and offsets between taxa will indicate how useful these data will be in reconstructing ecological niche partitioning within these ancient environments. A study of a second locality will help to understand the consistency of these relationships across space different habitats. Successful completion of this project will open a new avenue of research into understanding the ecologic relationships throughout the dominant greenhouse world of the Cretaceous.Completion of this project will involve training of undergraduates in the classroom and laboratory. Students (graduate and undergraduate)will learn the scientific process and some specific techniques involved in analyzing the structure of these teeth and process of isotopic analysis and interpretation. Several semester long class projects will involve students in this research while teaching scientific methods, exploring new topics and procedures all in the process of gaining the data necessary for the completion of the project.Further, the university partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science encourages the dissemination of new data, insights and discoveries to the public and classrooms across the state of North Carolina. Results from this project will also lead to publication of results in scholarly journals, but more importantly will lead to future proposals and research into the ecologic structure and correlation of ecology and climate in the interesting and important period of Earth history.