The effects of Paraloid B-72 and Butvar B-98 treatment and organic solvent removal on δ(13)C, δ(15)N, and δ(18)O values of collagen and hydroxyapatite in a modern bone.

Stable isotopes in bones are a powerful tool for diet, provenance, climate, and physiological reconstructions, but necessarily require well-preserved specimens unaltered by postmortem diagenesis or conservation practices. This study examines the effects of Paraloid B-72 and Butvar B-98, two common consolidants used in field and museum conservation, on δ(13)C, δ(15)N, and δ(18)O values from bone collagen and hydroxyapatite. The effects of solvent removal (100% acetone, 100% ethanol, 9:1 acetone:xylenes, 9:1 ethanol:xylenes) and drying methods (ambient air, vacuum, oven drying at 80°C) were also examined to determine if bones treated with these consolidants can successfully be cleaned and used for stable isotope analyses. Results show that introduction of Paraloid B-72 or Butvar B-98 in 100% acetone or 100% ethanol, respectively, with subsequent removal by the same solvents and drying at 80°C facilitates the most successful removal of consolidants and solvents. The δ(13)C values in collagen, δ(15)N in collagen, δ(18)O in hydroxyapatite phosphate, and δ(13)C in hydroxyapatite structural carbonate were unaltered by treatments with Paraloid or Butvar and subsequent solvent removal. The δ(18)O in hydroxyapatite structural carbonate showed nonsystematic variability when bones were treated with Paraloid and Butvar, which is hypothesized to be a result of hydroxyl exchange when bones are exposed to consolidants in solution. It is therefore recommended that δ(18)O in hydroxyapatite structural carbonate should not be used in stable isotope studies if bones have been treated with Paraloid or Butvar.

White-tailed deer alter specialist and generalist insect herbivory through plant traits.

Within a plant species, leaf traits can vary across environmental, genetic, spatial, and temporal gradients, even showing drastic differences within individuals. Herbivory can also induce variation in leaf morphology, defensive structure, and chemistry including nutritional content. Indirect effects of prior insect herbivory on later herbivores have been well documented, but the induction of trait changes after vertebrate herbivory has been little explored. Here, we examined how browsing of spicebush (Lindera benzoin L.), a dominant understory shrub in eastern mesic forests, by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus L.) altered plant quality and subsequent foliar herbivory by insects. Browsing history explained ≈ 10% of overall leaf trait variation; regenerated leaves had greater water content and specific leaf area (P = 0.009), but were lower in nitrogen and greater in carbon (P < 0.001), than leaves on unbrowsed plants. However, browsing did not shift terpene chemistry as revealed by GC-MS. In the lab, caterpillars of the specialist spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus L.) preferred (P = 0.02) and grew 20% faster (P = 0.02) on foliage from browsed plants; whereas total herbivory in the field, including generalist insect herbivory, was twice as high on unbrowsed plants (P = 0.016). These results suggest that the ecological impacts of deer in forest understories can have cascading impacts on arthropod communities by changing the suitability of host-plants to insect herbivores.