Abstract:
This dataset provides stable isotope values (delta13C, delta15N) of 174 bone collagen samples collected in the western South Atlantic. Collagen was extracted from bone samples for six whale species as follows: Antarctic blue whale (n = 20), fin whale (n = 64), humpback whale (n = 46), sei whale (n = 40), southern right whale (n = 1), and sperm whale (n = 3). Bone samples were collected from ex-whaling sites across three locations in the western South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Orkneys. This samples were used to estimate niche partitioning and diet specialism of whale species in the western South Atlantic.
Funding:
NE/L002507/1 (a NERC-Cambridge ESS Doctoral Training Partnership studentship from the Natural Environment Research Council awarded to Danielle L. Buss) and the Ecosystems component of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme, funded by NERC.
Keywords:
South Atlantic, diet specialism, historical ecology, niche partitioning, stable isotope, whale
Buss, D.L., O'Connell, T.C., Evans, S., Kneale, C., Osborn, J., Atmore, L.M, Sremba, A.L., Baker, C.S., Dunn, M.J., Goodall-Copestake, W.P., Martin, A., Kitchener, A.C., Stowasser, G., Weir, C.R., & Jackson, J.A. (2025). Stable Isotope Analysis of Historical Whale Bone Collagen from the South Atlantic (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/b0830de0-46e9-49c7-aa73-68c8f662d659
| Access Constraints: | Under embargo until publication of associated article. |
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| Use Constraints: | Data supplied under Open Government Licence v3.0 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
| Creation Date: | 2025-05-06 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK Polar Data Centre |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Danielle L Buss |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Tamsin C O'Connell |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Name | Sally Evans |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | MSDS Marine |
| Name | Catherine Kneale |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Name | Joanna Osborn |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Name | Lane M Atmore |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Name | Angela L Sremba |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Oregon State University |
| Name | C S Baker |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | National Museums Scotland |
| Name | Michael J Dunn |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Dr William P Goodall-Copestake |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Antony Martin |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Dundee |
| Name | Andrew C Kitchener |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | National Museums Scotland |
| Name | Dr Gabriele Stowasser |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Caroline R Weir |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Falklands Conservation |
| Name | Dr Jennifer A Jackson |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | Associated publication: Buss et al. (in review). Historical niche partitioning of Baleen whales in the Western South Atlantic. Marine Ecology Progress Series. References: Buss, D. L. (2022). Foraging ecology and population structuring of baleen whales in the western South Atlantic and eastern South Pacific [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.85814 Buss DL, Atmore LM, Zicos MH, Goodall-Copestake WP, Brace S, Archer FI, Baker CS, Barnes I, Carroll EL, Hart T, Kitchener AC, Sabin R, Sremba AL, Weir CR, Jackson JA (2023) Historical Mitogenomic Diversity and Population Structuring of Southern Hemisphere Fin Whales. Genes 14:1038. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14051038. Sremba AL, Martin AR, Scott Baker C (2015) Species identification and likely catch time period of whale bones from South Georgia. Mar Mamm Sci 31:122-132. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12139. Sremba AL, Martin AR, Wilson P, Cypriano-Souza AL, Buss DL, Hart T, Engel MH, Bonatto SL, Rosenbaum H, Collins T, Olavarría C, Archer FI, Steel D, Jackson JA, Baker CS (2023) Diversity of mitochondrial DNA in 3 species of great whales before and after modern whaling. J Hered:esad048. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esad048. |
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| Quality: | Measurement precision (delta13C: 0.1per-mille; delta15N: 0.2per-mille) was determined using the internationally approved standard (IAEA-600) and in-house standards (nylon, alanine, protein 2). Sample quality was determined using atomic carbon:nitrogen ratios between 3.0. Triplicate repeats that passed quality control checks were averaged prior to publication. Temporal coverage is estimated at early 20th century. |
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| Lineage/Methodology: | Collagen was extracted from bones (resembling large whale bones, n=178) collected in the western South Atlantic (WSA) from beaches located near ex-whaling grounds. These regions are associated with areas of high numbers of whaling catches during the 20th-century and are regions known to be whale feeding grounds (Fig. 1, the Falkland Islands, FLK (n=58), South Georgia, SG (n=89), and the South Orkney Islands, SO (n=31)). Using genetic sequencing and peptide-fingerprinting, bones were taxonomically identified as Antarctic blue whale (n = 20), fin whale (n = 64), humpback whale (n = 46), sei whale (n = 40), southern right whale (n = 1), sperm whale (n = 3), and non-whale (n = 4). Taxonomic identifications of whale bones are detailed in Buss, D. 2022 (Buss et al., 2021). Bone collagen extracts were weighed in triplicate for stable isotope analysis (mean +/- SD, delta13C/delta15N: 0.8mg +/- 0.1). Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios are expressed as delta values (delta13C and delta15N) relative to international standards (VPDB and AIR, respectively). Due to the long tissue incorporation rates and turnover times of bone collagen, these samples will reflects the average diet of a whale over many years (> 10 years). Therefore, although the bone samples were collected at three sites in the western South Atlantic, the bone collagen will also reflect feeding elsewhere (for those individuals that also feed when not on the known feeding grounds). |
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| Spatial Coverage: | |
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| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -62 |
| Northernmost | -51 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -63 |
| Easternmost | -26 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Falkland Islands |
| Detailed Location | The Falkland Islands/ Islas Malvinas |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | The South Orkneys |
| Data Collection: | Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured at the Godwin Laboratory, University of Cambridge, using a Costech Elemental Analyser coupled in continuous flow mode to a Thermo Delta V Plus continuous-flow stable isotope mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS). |
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| Data Storage: | Each row provides the stable isotope values and metadata for a single bone specimen (n=174) in CSV format. |
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