Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca variations in environmental and biological sources: A survey of marine and terrestrial systems

Abstract

The relative concentrations of strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) and barium to calcium (Ba/Ca) in mammalian bioapatite are common biogeochemical indicators for trophic level and/or dietary preferences in terrestrial foodwebs; however, similar research in marine foodwebs is lacking. This study combined environmental and biological Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca data from both terrestrial and marine settings from 62 published books, reports, and studies along with original data collected from 149 marine mammals (30 species) and 83 prey items (18 species) and found that variations in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios of biological and environmental samples are appreciably different in terrestrial and marine systems. In terrestrial systems, environmental sources account for most of the variations in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios. In contrast, environmental sources in marine systems (i.e., seawater) are comparatively invariant, meaning most of the variations in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios originate from biological processes. Marine consumers, particularly non-mammalian and mammalian vertebrates, show evidence of biopurification of Ca relative to Sr and Ba, similar to what is observed in terrestrial systems; however, unlike terrestrial systems, variations in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios of environmental sources are overprinted by bioaccumulation of Sr and Ba at the base of marine foodwebs. This demonstrates that in marine systems, spatial or temporal differences may have little to no effect on Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios of marine vertebrates, making Sr/Ca, and to a lesser extent Ba/Ca, potentially useful global proxies for trophic level and dietary preferences of marine vertebrates.