-
Tracking individual dietary choices in complex past food webs: Integrated bulk collagen and compound-specific stable isotope analysis of urban cats
-
Reconstructing dietary strategies in past urban environments is challenging because of the complexity of anthropogenic impacts on food webs, in which diverse local and imported resources with variable isotopic compositions limit the interpretive power of conventional bulk-collagen stable isotope analysis. We address this problem using domestic cats as dietary proxies, exploiting their opportunistic foraging behavior to track resource partitioning within a medieval urban landscape. We present an integrated multi-isotope study of cat bone collagen from medieval Gdańsk (northern Poland) and six regional comparative sites, combining bulk collagen δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S analysis with compound-specific δ13C and δ15N analysis of amino acids. Despite apparent isotopic homogeneity in the Gdańsk assemblage within the conventional bulk collagen dual-isotope space, the expanded isotopic framework reveals substantial individual-level dietary variability. Sulfur isotopes indicate diverse food provenances, including baseline values of the marine ecosystem and grain imported from inland regions. Amino acid-based fingerprinting identifies diets spanning terrestrial C3 and C4, freshwater, and marine ecosystem baselines, while amino acid-based trophic position proxies reveal highly variable individual trophic levels uncorrelated with bulk collagen δ15N values. These findings demonstrate that isotopic homogeneity in the conventional dual-isotope space can mask substantial dietary heterogeneity. Our study highlights the potential of integrating amino acid analysis with sulfur isotope analysis to reconstruct individual-level food choices in complex past environments.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
Unusual skip and groove marks from the Carboniferous Denée Konservat‑Lagerstätte (Visean, Belgium)
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
On the variability of the marine gastropod Manzonia overdiepi van Aartsen, 1983 (Gastropoda: Rissoidae) from the Canary Islands, the Selvagens Islands and the Madeira Archipelago
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
The Consthum Lagerstätte (Luxembourg) – a window into the palaeoecology of Early Devonian marine‑terrestrial transitional facies
-
In the Rhenish Massif, a vast Lower Devonian deltaic system along the southern edge of Laurussia (Old Red Continent) continues to yield exceptional fossils from marginal marine to terrestrial transitional facies. Hitherto, these occurrences are mainly known from the lower Moselle and West-Eifel regions in Germany. Here, we introduce a new Lagerstätte situated in northern Luxembourg, which extends the known geographical occurrence of this important biota further to the west. It agrees more-or-less with previously known localities from Germany in the general composition of the fossil association, which is composed of a bivalve-lingulid-arthropod-dominated association with a few associated vertebrate remains, macro-plants, and some miospores. Unique features include a mass occurrence of clam shrimp, the high abundance of scorpions and juvenile specimens of the eurypterid Adelophthalmus as well as the occurrence of supposed euthycarcinoids and (stem?) onychophorans. Analyses of the Consthum Lagerstätten and biota have great potential to further illuminate the palaeoecology and palaeogeography of marginal-marine to terrestrial transitional settings in the Ardenno-Rhenish Lower Devonian and to decipher the palaeoecological origin of various lineages of organisms, such as clam shrimp, scorpions, and onychophorans. This is of paramount importance for a holistic understanding of the biology and physiology of their modern descendants.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
Redescription of Teretoctopus alcocki Robson, 1932 (Cephalopoda: Enterotopodidae), and comments on the nomenclature of "inkless octopus" genera.
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2025
-
A selkirkiid scalidophoran from the Lower Devonian of Belgium and the dubious merit of the concept of ‘Burgess Shale-type’ organisms
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
Exploring Biological and Ecological Components of Sheep Astragalus Size and Shape Variation Using 3D Geometric Morphometrics: Towards A Bioarchaeological Proxy
-
One of the key challenges in the archaeology of sheep domestication is reconstructing the complex history of environmental and anthropogenic transformations undergone by sheep since the beginning of the domestication process of their wild ancestors. In recent years, GMM studies of sheep astragalus bones have contributed to our understanding of morphological differences between wild and domestic caprine species. However, the respective influences of biological and ecological factors on astragalus morphological variations in sheep remain poorly documented. This limitation hinders a comprehensive understanding of its biosystematic resolution and, consequently, its use as a proxy in archaeological contexts to investigate early selective breeding and the emergence of sheep breeds in Southwest Asia. This paper presents the results of a morphological study of 96 astragali using 3D geometric morphometrics, focusing primarily on modern Eurasian and African sheep breeds and landraces. The study is based on a well-documented comparative collection encompassing phenotypical traits (breed, sex, age, presence/absence of horns, coat and tail type, weight, body length); ecological characteristics (climate, geography, environment, elevation, topography); and breeding strategies (mobility). The results demonstrate that the 3D astragalus morphological pattern is a reliable marker for distinguishing one sheep breed from another. They suggest that astragalus morphology is only slightly influenced by phenotypic markers. The study further explores the effects of environmental and climatic factors on phenotypic variation and highlights the potential of the astragalus as an ecomorphological marker. Finally, the current limitations in interpreting the relationship between astragalus morphological variation and mobility strategies in archaeological contexts are discussed.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
Correction: Pahon Cave, Gabon: New insights into the Later Stone Age in the African rainforest
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
Brain size reduction in dogs was already established at least by the Late Neolithic of Western Europe, 5000 years ago
-
The timing and causes of brain size reduction in domestic dogs remain uncertain. Using endocast volume as a proxy for brain size, this study provides a first insight into long-term brain size evolution in the wolf-dog lineage. We compared endocranial volumes of 185 modern and 22 prehistoric wolves and dogs ranging from Western Europe to Australia, and spanning the Pleniglacial (35 000 yr BP) to the Late Neolithic (5000 yr BP). Our results reveal that Pleistocene so-called ‘protodogs’ show no brain size reduction compared with coeval Pleistocene wolves. Instead, we observed a slightly larger relative endocranial volume in the 35 000-year-old 'protodog' from Goyet, which could suggest increased behavioural flexibility in the presence of humans. In contrast, Late Neolithic dogs show a drastic brain size reduction (46\%) with endocranial volumes comparable to modern small terrier and toy breeds. We speculate that the anxious and wary temperaments of these Late Neolithic dogs, induced by the brain tissue reorganization associated with such a size reduction, could have served an alerting purpose, among the many other potential roles dogs could have played within these Late Neolithic socio-ecosystems.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
-
Marine Chersodromia Walker (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Mediterranean coastline of Morocco: description of three new species with new records, supported by COI barcoding/strong
-
Three new species for science of Chersodromia Walker are described from the Moroccan Mediterranean coastline (C. kessabae sp. nov., C. moroccensis sp. nov. and C. estuaria sp. nov.), with the first record of Chersodromia oraria Collin, 1966 in Morocco and new distributional data are provided for Chersodromia pseudohirta Chvála, 1970. This study is based on intensive field surveys conducted by the third author along the Mediterranean coastline of Morocco between 2022 and 2024, targeting especially a variety of coastal habitats. Illustrations of the new species are given, along with COI barcodes of all species recorded. A key to the Moroccan Mediterranean species of Chersodromia is also provided.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
