Experimental evidence shows no fractionation of strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) among soil, plants, and herbivores: implications for tracking wildlife and forensic science
2015
Flockhart, D.T Tyler | Kyser, T Kurt | Chipley, Don | Miller, Nathan G. | Norris, D Ryan
Strontium isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr) can be useful biological markers for a wide range of forensic science applications, including wildlife tracking. However, one of the main advantages of using ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr values, that there is no fractionation from geological bedrock sources through the food web, also happens to be a critical assumption that has never been tested experimentally. We test this assumption by measuring ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr values across three trophic levels in a controlled greenhouse experiment. Adult monarch butterflies were raised on obligate larval host milkweed plants that were, in turn, grown on seven different soil types collected across Canada. We found no significant differences between ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr values in leachable Sr from soil minerals, organic soil, milkweed leaves, and monarch butterfly wings. Our results suggest that strontium isoscapes developed from ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr values in bedrock or soil may serve as a reliable biological marker in forensic science for a range of taxa and across large geographic areas.
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