High-resolution records of growth temperature and life history of two Nacella limpet species, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

2020

Stable isotope ratios in patelloid limpets of the genus Patella have been established as proxies for coastal environmental change at sub-monthly resolution along the eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Nacella deaurata (Gmelin, 1791) and N. magellanica (Gmelin, 1791) are common intertidal species of patelloid limpets inhabiting the coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina/Chile and are commonly found in Holocene archaeological deposits. Here, we examine oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (δ18Oshell and δ13Cshell, respectively) of modern specimens of N. deaurata and N. magellanica to test the hypotheses that: 1) they form their shells in isotopic equilibrium with ambient water; and 2) pr…