δ^15N and δ^13C measurements from the African elephant, Loxodonta africana, used for ivory sourcing

概要

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For country soucing using ivory, a total of 81 country-known ivory samples from the southern African countries from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the central African countries of Congo, Gabon and Zaire, and the eastern African countries of Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia, and 82 ivory samples collected from Kruger National Park in South Africa were measured to obtain δ^15N and δ^13C values, using an ANCA-MS (Automatic Nitrogen and Carbon Analyzer mass-spectrometry, Europa Scientific Ltd.). δ^13C values for collagen from South African samples (-19.4 ± 2.3‰) indicate a stronger dependence on C4 plants than do those from the Congo (-25.3 ± 1.4‰), Gabon (-27.2 ± 1.5‰) and Zaire (-26.7 ± 1.2‰). δ^15N values for these samples had relatively wide variation within the countries. Theδ^15N and δ^13C distribution for the ivory samples from Kruger National Park in South Africa differed, clustering around -18‰ to -21‰ (-19.8 ± 1.1‰) for δ^13C values and +7‰ to +12‰ (+8.9 ± 1.1‰) for δ^15N values, suggesting that δ^15N and δ^13C measurements are useful for ivory sourcing.