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Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

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feeding on <strong>the</strong> plant (Sukumar and Ramesh 1992: 536; Sukumar and Ramesh 1995: 369;<br />

Tieszen et al. 1989; DeNiro and Epstein 1978). Collagen moreover largely reflects <strong>the</strong><br />

δ 13 C values <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> protein component <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> animal’s diet, since collagen is formed <strong>from</strong><br />

amino acids. Conversely, <strong>the</strong> apatite represents <strong>the</strong> whole diet (carbohydrates, fats, and<br />

protein), and is <strong>the</strong>refore more useful for characterizing <strong>the</strong> entire diet, and in particular<br />

<strong>the</strong> carbohydrate portion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> diet, since to a large extent it is not represented in<br />

collagen (Larsen 1997: 272), as determined by controlled feeding laboratory experiments<br />

(cf. Ambrose and Norr 1993; Tieszen and Fagre 1993). See Figure 31 for a summary <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> carbon isotope fractionation through <strong>the</strong> foodchain and <strong>the</strong> difference in δ 13 C values<br />

between collagen and apatite.<br />

Figure 31: Carbon isotope fractionation in terrestrial foodchains<br />

80

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