Growth, diet, thermophysiology and mobility of sauropods - Implications from bone isotope geochemistry for paleobiology and gigantism

蜥脚类恐龙的生长、饮食、热生理学和活动能力——骨同位素地球化学对古生物学和巨人症的影响

• 批准号: 36678185
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Thomas Tütken
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Arbeitsgruppe Angewandte und Analytische Paläontologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Independent Junior Research Groups
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2006-12-31 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/36678185?language=en
• 关键词: Growth; diet; thermophysiology; mobility; sauropods

Bones and teeth are valuable archives of the life history of the individual vertebrate. They record in their isotopic composition information about the growth, diet, thermophysiology and mobility as well as climate and environment. In this project time-series of annual climate seasonality and dietary intake will be determined by serial sampling of growth increments and isotope analysis of the biogenic apatite on histologically and geochemically well-characterized sauropod long bones. The recorded seasonal oxygen isotope cyclicity will be used as annual time marker for (bone-) growth. Quantitative growth curves will be calculated for all major sauropod taxa and are fundamental for understanding the ontogenetic and phylogenetic evolution of sauropod gigantism. Diet and feeding strategies which enabled sauropods to attain and sustain their enormous body mass will be investigated by analyzing the carbon isotope composition of their bones and teeth as well as of potential extant and fossil food plants. Mobility of sauropods during food and water intake from different resources will be traced isotopically. The influence of laying eggs on the calcium metabolism of extant and extinct archosaurs and its potential use as gender proxy will be explored analyzing calcium isotopes of bones and eggshells. Finally the applicability of the lutetium-hafnium isotope system for direct radiometric dating of fossil bones will be developed to date the evolution of gigantism in the sauropod lineage. Bone isotope geochemistry will provide important new insights into the palaeobiology, palaeoecology, and evolutionary success of sauropod dinosaurs, the largest land animals ever.

骨骼和牙齿是脊椎动物个体生活史的宝贵档案。它们在同位素组成中记录了有关生长、饮食、热生理和流动性以及气候和环境的信息。在本项目中，将通过对蜥脚类动物长骨上生长增量的连续采样和生物成因磷灰石的同位素分析，确定年度气候季节性和膳食摄入量的时间序列。记录的季节氧同位素周期将用作（骨）生长的年度时间标记。定量生长曲线将计算所有主要的蜥脚类动物类群，这是理解蜥脚类巨兽的个体发生和系统发育进化的基础。通过分析蜥脚类动物骨骼和牙齿以及潜在的现存和化石食物植物的碳同位素组成，将研究使蜥脚类动物获得并维持其巨大体重的饮食和喂养策略。从不同来源摄取食物和水的蜥脚类动物的流动性将被同位素追踪。通过分析骨骼和蛋壳的钙同位素，探讨产卵对现存和已灭绝的祖龙钙代谢的影响及其作为性别代理的潜力。最后，将发展镥铪同位素系统对化石骨的直接放射性定年的适用性，以确定蜥脚类动物谱系中巨人症的进化。骨骼同位素地球化学将为有史以来最大的陆地动物——蜥脚类恐龙的古生物学、古生态学和进化成功提供重要的新见解。