Multi-isotope investigation of ecological preferences and responses of animals to climatic and environmental change in the past to better address conservation concerns

Human land use, particularly in the form of growing urban populations, large-scale agricultural expansion, and infrastructural development, has led to declining biodiversity and species abundance in some countries due to significant habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. Moreover, many animals living today have historically had a much wider geographical and ecological range, progressively diminishing over time due to human encroachment. This can sometimes even make it uncertain what their optimal habitat and diet originally were. A deep understanding of the ecology of species in the past, and how they adapted or failed to adapt to habitat loss and change, could provide valuable insights for developing effective conservation strategies to address these modern challenges.

Using a systematic comparison of multi-isotopic data of δ⁶⁶Zn, δ¹³C, and δ¹⁸O, we explore the ecological niche of animals in the past and if or how these changed during periods of stark climatic and environmental changes. Developing a long-term multi-isotope ecological assessment for threatened species across space and time provides us with much-needed ecological data and help bridge the gap for adequate conservation efforts amidst modern-day human land use.

This project is co-funded by an ongoing Walter Benjamin funding program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, with the project specifically looking into omnivory and how zinc isotopes can help us detect this dietary behaviour. This project is also being conducted in collaboration with the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (Berlin, Germany), the Southern Cross University (Lismore, Australia), Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia), the University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia), and Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia).