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| Titel |
Application of stable isotope (δ13C and δ18O) composition of mollusc shells in palaeolimnological studies - possibilities and limitations |
| VerfasserIn |
Karina Apolinarska, Mariusz Pełechaty, Annette Kossler, Eugeniusz Pronin, Daria Noskowiak |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250146412
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-10436.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotope analyses are among the standard methods applied in the studies of past environment, including climate. In lacustrine sediments, δ13C and δ18O values can be measured in fine carbonate fraction (carbonate mud), in charophyte encrustations, ostracod carapaces and mollusc shells. Application of the stable isotope record of each of the above-mentioned components of the lake sediment requires knowledge about possibilities and limitations of the method. The present research discusses the most important results of the studies carried out between 2011 and 2013, concentrated on the stable isotope composition of snail shells, primarily, the species commonly preserved in central European Quaternary lacustrine sediments. The stable isotope studies involved also, the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), one of the most invasive freshwater species in the world. The research involved shell isotope studies of both recent (Apolinarska, 2013; Apolinarska et al., 2016; Apolinarska and Pełechaty, in press) and fossil molluscs derived from the Holocene sediments (Apolinarska et al., 2015a, b).
Shell δ13C values were species-specific and among the gastropods studied the same order of species from the most to the least 13C-depleted was observed at all sites sampled. Shell δ18O values were more uniform. The wide range of δ13C and δ18O values were observed in population and subpopulation, i.e. when live snails were sampled live from restricted area within the lake littoral zone. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope values of the mono-specific shells sampled from 1 cm thick sediment samples were highly variable. Those intra-specific differences (n=20) were as large as several permill. Such significant variability in δ13C and δ18O values indicates that stable isotope composition of single shells is unlikely to be representative of the sediment sample.
In conclusion, samples of freshwater molluscs for stable isotope analyses should be monospecific and composed of at least several shells. The number of shells being dependent on the difference between the minimum and maximum values within the sediment layer.
The research was funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Iuventus Plus Program, grant No. IP2010 000670.
Apolinarska, K., 2013. Stable isotope compositions of recent Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) shells: paleoenvironmental implications. Journal of Paleolimnology 50, 353-364.
Apolinarska, K., Pełechaty, M. & Kossler, A., 2015a. Within-sample variability of δ13C and δ18O values of freshwater gastropod shells and the optimum number of shells to measure per sediment layer in the Paddenluch palaeolacustrine sequence, Germany. Journal of Paleolimnology 54, 305-323.
Apolinarska, K., Pełechaty, M. & Noskowiak, D., 2015b. Differences in stable isotope compositions of freshwater snails from surface sediments of two Polish shallow lakes. Limnologica 53, 95-105.
Apolinarska, K., Pełechaty, M. & Pronin, E., 2016. Discrepancies between the stable isotope compositions of water, macrophyte carbonates and organics, and mollusc shells in the littoral zone of a charophyte-dominated lake (Lake Lednica, Poland). Hydrobiologia 768, 1-17.
Apolinarska, K. & Pełechaty, M., Inter- and intra-specific variability in δ13C and δ18O values of freshwater gastropod shells from Lake Lednica, western Poland. DOI: 10.1515/agp-2016-0028 |
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