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oai:figshare.com:article/34041396 2026-10-01T08:01:24Z category_62 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Table 1_Integrating radiocarbon and stable isotopes in odontocete teeth to reveal life histories.xlsx Kieran M. Tierney (16724942) Rona A. R. McGill (9397646) Andrew Brownlow (408477) Kerry L. Sayle (7736102) Brian G. Tripney (25155279) Elaine Dunbar (9285378) Jason Newton (327238) Maeva Terrapon (24665613) Mariel T. I. ten Doeschate (25155282) Nicholas J. Davison (3748348) Zena Timmons (12034240) Andrew C. Kitchener (7505939) Marine Biology odontocete teeth growth layer groups (GLGs) killer whale sperm whale bomb radiocarbon stable isotopes <p>Accurate age estimation is fundamental to understanding the life histories of long-lived marine mammals, underpinning assessments of ontogenetic shifts in foraging ecology, reproductive timing and interpretation of contaminant burdens. The teeth of odontocetes have growth layer groups (GLGs) that are widely used to reconstruct life histories, yet their annual periodicity remains insufficiently validated in many species. Here, we combine bomb radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and stable isotope (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) analyses of dentine GLGs from two sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and three killer whales (Orcinus orca) stranded in Scotland to evaluate GLG chronology and ecological variation. Radiocarbon profiles in both sperm whales and one killer whale align with reference marine bomb curves, supporting annual GLG deposition during early and mid-life. In contrast, radiocarbon values in another killer whale indicate a mismatch between GLG counts and elapsed time, with 52 visible GLGs but F¹⁴C values consistent with a substantially older age, potentially 65+ years. A further individual exhibits consistently elevated radiocarbon values, with F¹⁴C approximately 1.11–1.13, linked to nuclear reprocessing-derived inputs, indicating long-term foraging within the west of Scotland marine environment. In sperm whale teeth, δ¹³C values ranged from approximately −14.0‰ to −11.7‰ and δ¹⁵N values from 11.3‰ to 17.1‰, with both individuals showing decreasing δ¹³C and increasing δ¹⁵N through the tooth record. In killer whales, δ¹³C values ranged from approximately −15.4‰ to −12.4‰ and δ¹⁵N values from 12.4‰ to 19.2‰, with distinct individual isotopic ranges indicating divergent ecological histories. These results demonstrate that odontocete teeth preserve temporally structured ecological records, but that GLG-based chronologies may lose fidelity in older individuals, highlighting the value of integrating radiocarbon validation with isotope analyses.</p> 2026-10-01T08:01:24Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fmars.2026.1934180.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_1_Integrating_radiocarbon_and_stable_isotopes_in_odontocete_teeth_to_reveal_life_histories_xlsx/34041396 CC BY 4.0