0000000001311086
AUTHOR
Nicole L. Ackermans
Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep ( Ovis aries )
Dietary reconstruction in vertebrates often relies on dental wear-based proxies. Although these proxies are widely applied, the contributions of physical and mechanical processes leading to meso- and microwear are still unclear. We tested their correlation using sheep ( Ovis aries , n = 39) fed diets of varying abrasiveness for 17 months as a model. Volumetric crown tissue loss, mesowear change and dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) were all applied to the same teeth. We hereby correlate: (i) 46 DMTA parameters with each other, for the maxillary molars (M1, M2, M3), and the second mandibular molar (m2); (ii) 10 mesowear variables to each other and to DMTA for M1, M2, M3 and m2; and (…
Root growth compensates for molar wear in adult goats (Capra aegagrus hircus)
One reason for the mammalian clade’s success is the evolutionary diversity of their teeth. In herbivores, this is represented by high‐crowned teeth evolved to compensate for wear caused by dietary abrasives like phytoliths and grit. Exactly how dietary abrasives wear teeth is still not understood completely. We fed four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (L: Lucerne; G: grass; GR: grass and rice husks; GRS: grass, rice husks, and sand) to four groups of a total of 28 adult goats, all with completely erupted third molars, over a six‐month period. Tooth morphology was captured by medical computed tomography scans at the beginning and end of the controlled feeding experiment, …
Dust and grit matter: abrasives of different size lead to opposing dental microwear textures in experimentally fed sheep (Ovis aries)
ABSTRACT External abrasives ingested along with the herbivore diet are considered main contributors to dental wear, though how the different sizes and concentrations of these abrasives influence wear remains unclear. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is an established method for dietary reconstruction which describes a tooth9s surface topography on a micrometre scale. The method has yielded conflicting results as to the effect of external abrasives. In the present study, a feeding experiment was performed on sheep (Ovis aries) fed seven diets of different abrasiveness. Our aim was to discern the individual effects of size (4, 50 and 130 µm) and concentration (0%, 4% and 8% of dry mat…
Everything matters: Molar microwear texture in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) fed diets of different abrasiveness
There is an ongoing discourse about whether or not external abrasives influence the microscopic wear in herbivore teeth, including a statement that “dust does not matter”. We submitted the maxillary and mandibular second molar of 28 goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) to dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). The study animals were divided into four groups, which received diets of increasing phytolith-based abrasiveness (L: lucerne based pellets, very low phytolith abrasion diet, acting as control; G: grass-based pellets, medium abrasive phytolith diet; GR: grass and rice husk pellets, high abrasion phytolith diet), or a diet with added external abrasives (GRS: the GR diet with add…
Controlled feeding experiments with diets of different abrasiveness reveal slow development of mesowear signal in goats ( Capra aegagrus hircus )
ABSTRACT Dental mesowear is applied as a proxy to determine the general diet of mammalian herbivores based on tooth-cusp shape and occlusal relief. Low, blunt cusps are considered typical of grazers and high, sharp cusps typical of browsers. However, how internal or external abrasives impact mesowear, and the time frame the wear signature takes to develop, still need to be explored. Four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (lucerne, grass, grass and rice husks, and grass, rice husks and sand) were fed to four groups of a total of 28 adult goats in a controlled feeding experiment over a 6-month period. Tooth morphology was captured by medical CT scans at the beginning and end…
Data from: Controlled feeding experiments with diets of different abrasiveness reveal slow development of mesowear signal in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus)
Dental mesowear is applied as a proxy to determine the general diet of mammalian herbivores based on tooth-cusp shape and occlusal relief. Low, blunt cusps are considered typical for grazers and high, sharp cusps typical for browsers. However, how internal or external abrasives impact mesowear, and the time frame the wear signature takes to develop, still need to be explored. Four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (lucerne, grass, grass and rice husks, grass, rice husks and sand) were fed to four groups of a total of 28 adult goats in a controlled feeding experiment over a six-month period. Tooth morphology was captured by medical CT scans at the beginning and end of the e…