Freshwater Mussels as a Prehistoric Food Resource

1974 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Parmalee ◽  
Walter E. Klippel
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Freshwater Mussels ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Subsistence Economies ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Food Potential ◽  
Prehistoric Subsistence

AbstractThe explication of prehistoric subsistence economies has been of increasing interest to archaeologists. This emphasis is reflected, in part, by the considerable attention afforded faunal analyses in the recent archaeological literature. However, little effort has been made toward developing methods that permit meaningful comparisons of food resources at the interspecies level. Data pertinent to the calculation of both quantitative and qualitative food potential of many of the vertebrate animals represented in archaeological contexts are extant. These data are lacking for freshwater mussels, frequently found in archaeological sites in eastern North America. Information relevant to determining the food energy provided by freshwater mussels common to much of the Mississippi River drainage is presented. Results are applicable to more credible interpretations of prehistoric subsistence as related to animal food resources.

Spatial and temporal patterns in the food web structure of a large floodplain river assessed using stable isotopes

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R Herwig ◽  
David H Wahl ◽  
John M Dettmers ◽  
Daniel A Soluk
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Large River ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Web Structure

We assessed naturally occurring stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) for available food resources and consumers in the mainstream channel of the Mississippi River. Isotopic ratios were assessed for organic sources and organisms at two different sites during a fall, spring, and two summer seasons. Terrestrial C4 plants did not appear to be an important carbon source for consumers in the mainstream channel. A mixing model, IsoSource, indicated that terrestrial C3 vegetation, suspended algae, and epixylon were at times important food resources for large river consumers. Many consumer signatures fell outside the mixing polygon defined by these sources, indicating that there was a 13C-depleted food resource for which we did not account. We could not distinguish precisely whether downstream allochthonous and autochthonous carbon, or in situ production, was the dominant food resource supporting consumers in these systems. However, our data suggest that in situ organic matter sources can be important. Consumer δ13C and δ15N signatures intermediate between several sources indicated widespread omnivory in the river reaches that we studied. To fully understand food web structure and energy sources in complex large river ecosystems, an integrative approach that combines related empirical data sets is needed.

scholarly journals Integrative analysis of DNA, macroscopic remains and stable isotopes of dog coprolites to reconstruct community diet

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey E. Witt ◽  
Karthik Yarlagadda ◽  
Julie M. Allen ◽  
Alyssa C. Bader ◽  
Mary L. Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Intestinal Parasites ◽  
Dna Amplification ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Integrative Analysis ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Diet ◽  
Saint Louis ◽  
Fecal Microbiome

AbstractPaleofeces or coprolites are often used to reconstruct diet at archaeological sites, usually using macroscopic analyses or targeted DNA amplification and sequencing. Here we present an integrative analysis of dog coprolites, combining macroscopic analyses, stable isotope measurements, and DNA shotgun sequencing to examine diet and health status. Dog coprolites used in this study were recovered from the Janey B. Goode and East Saint Louis archaeological sites, both of which are located in the American Bottom, an extensive Mississippi River floodplain in Southwestern Illinois. Based on the context of recovery, coprolites are assigned to the Late Woodland and Terminal Late Woodland periods (ca. 600–1050 AD). Given the scarcity of human remains from this time period, these dog coprolites can be useful as a proxy for understanding human diet during the Late Woodland period. We find that the Late Woodland dogs consumed a variety of fish as well as bird and plant taxa, possibly including maize, and also harbored intestinal parasites and pathogenic bacteria. By sequencing the fecal microbiome of the coprolites, we find some similarities to modern dog microbiomes, as well as specific taxa that can be used to discriminate between modern and ancient microbiomes, excluding soil contaminants. As dogs are often used as a surrogate to assess human diet, humans living with these dogs likely had a similar diet and were affected by similar parasites. These analyses, when integrated, show a more comprehensive view of ancient dog and human diet and health in the region during the initial expansion of maize agriculture than any individual method could alone.

scholarly journals Apheloria polychroma, a new species of millipede from the Cumberland Mountains (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4375 (3) ◽  
pp. 409
Author(s):  
PAUL E. MAREK ◽  
JACKSON C. MEANS ◽  
DEREK A. HENNEN
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
North America ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Ouachita Mountains ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
Cumberland Mountains ◽  
A New Species

Millipedes of the genus Apheloria Chamberlin, 1921 occur in temperate broadleaf forests throughout eastern North America and west of the Mississippi River in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. Chemically defended with toxins made up of cyanide and benzaldehyde, the genus is part of a community of xystodesmid millipedes that compose several Müllerian mimicry rings in the Appalachian Mountains. We describe a model species of these mimicry rings, Apheloria polychroma n. sp., one of the most variable in coloration of all species of Diplopoda with more than six color morphs, each associated with a separate mimicry ring.

scholarly journals Diet seasonality and food overlap of the fish assemblage in a pantanal pond

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisele Caroline Novakowski ◽  
Norma Segatti Hahn ◽  
Rosemara Fugi
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Diet Breadth ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Trophic Guilds ◽  
Trophic Specialization ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Mean Values

We assessed the trophic structure of the fish fauna in Sinhá Mariana pond, Mato Grosso State, from March 2000 to February 2001. The aim was to determine the feeding patterns of the fish species during the rainy and dry seasons. The diets of 26 species (1,294 stomach contents) were determined by the volumetric method. Insects and fish were the most important food resources: insects were the dominant food of 23% and 27% of the species, respectively, in the rainy and dry season, and fish was the dominant item for 31% of the species in both seasons. Cluster analysis (Euclidean Distance) identified seven trophic guilds in the rainy season (detritivores, herbivores, insectivores, lepidophages, omnivores, piscivores and planktivores), and five trophic guilds in the dry season (detritivores, insectivores, lepidophages, omnivores and piscivores). The smallest mean values of diet breadth were observed for the specialist guilds (detritivores, lepidophages and piscivores), in both seasons. The widest means for diet breadth were observed for the omnivores, regardless of the season. In general, there was no seasonal variation in feeding overlap among the species studied. At the community level, diet overlap values between species were low (< 0.4) for 80% of the pairs in each season, suggesting wide partitioning of the food resource. The fish assemblage showed a tendency toward trophic specialization, regardless of the season, although several species changed their diets. We might consider two non-excludent hypothesis: that there is no pattern on the use of seasonal food resources and/or probably there are several patterns, because each one is based on characteristics of the studied site and the taxonomic composition of the resident species.

Coring Archaeological Sites

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie K. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
River Sediments ◽  
Radiometric Dating ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
New Device ◽  
Culture History ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
History Of ◽  
River Deposits ◽  
Relationship Of

The history of coring and augering at archaeological sites is traced to two periods in the twentieth century. In the first period, Period I (1935-1955), the technique was used primarily to correlate archaeological deposits with river sediments for dating purposes. Rarely were the deposits containing artifacts cored or augered; rather the stratigraphic relationship of cultural to non-cultural deposits was sought. Most of this work was done in the Lower Mississippi River Delta where geologists had calculated absolute dates for river deposits. This period seems to have ended with the availability of radiometric dating and was followed by Period II (1964-present). After 1964 there is a renewed interest in coring and augering, mostly following a shift in archaeological research interests from culture history toward ecological questions. This shift coincides with the availability of a new device: a mechanical corer. During Period II, coring is utilized in many different projects, including reconstructing the environment surrounding sites, collection of samples from subsurface deposits, and locating buried archaeological sites. Following the discussion of the history of coring and augering, a description of equipment, techniques, and data potential is presented.

scholarly journals Aquatic insects as the main food resource of fish the community in a Neotropical reservoir

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Vidotto-Magnoni ◽  
Edmir Daniel Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Food Category ◽  
Main Food ◽  
Tietê River ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Terrestrial Insects

We evaluated the feeding of fish species of the Nova Avanhandava Reservoir, low Tietê River, São Paulo State, Brazil. Fishes were collected in two stretches of the reservoir: Santa Bárbara (14 samples) and Bonito (two samples) between September 2002 and March 2004, using gill and seining nets. The results of stomach contents analysis were expressed with the frequency of occurrence and gravimetric method, combined in the Alimentary Index (AI). The 20 species studied consumed 52 food items, grouped in 10 food categories: aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, crustaceans, fish, macroinvertebrates, microcrustaceans, algae, vegetal matter, detritus/sediment and scales. The aquatic insects (mainly Chironomidae, Odonata and Ephemeroptera) were the most common food resources, consumed by 18 species. The diet composition of the community (species grouped) indicated that the dominant food category in the diet of fishes was aquatic insects (AI = 77.6%), followed by crustaceans (AI = 7.1%). Four trophic guilds were identified according a cluster analysis (Pearson distance): insectivorous (10 species), omnivorous (4 species), detritivorous (3 species) and piscivorous/carcinophagous (3 species). Despite the highest number of species, the insectivorous guild was responsible for more than 80% in captures in number and biomass (CPUEn and CPUEb). The low values of niche breadth presented by all species, along with the low values of diet overlap between species pairs indicate a high degree of food resources partitioning among species. The aquatic insects, despite being the main food resource of insectivorous fishes, also complemented the diet of other species, which demonstrate the importance of this food resource for the fish community, sustaining a high diversity, abundance and biomass of fishes.

Local-scale spatial patterns of freshwater mussels in the Upper Mississippi River

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Ries ◽  
N. De Jager ◽  
T. J. Newton ◽  
S. J. Zigler
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Freshwater Mussels ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Upper Mississippi River

Cherokee Towns and Calumet Ceremonialism in Eastern North America

2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Rodning
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Native American ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Southern Appalachians ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Upper Midwest

Calumet ceremonialism was widely practiced by Native American and European colonial groups in the Great Plains and Southeast during the late seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century. Cultural practices associated with smoking calumet pipes have roots in the prehistoric past, but the spread of calumet ceremonialism across the Southeast was associated with the spread of European colonists and colonialism. Calumet ceremonialism served the needs for groups to have a means of creating balance, and of setting the stage for peaceful interaction and exchange, during a period marked by considerable instability and dramatic cultural change. The presence of a redstone elbow pipe bowl fragment from the Coweeta Creek site in southwestern North Carolina demonstrates the participation of Cherokee towns in calumet ceremonialism, despite the remote location of this site in the southern Appalachians, far from major European colonial settlements, and far from areas such as the Mississippi River Valley and the upper Midwest where such pipes are much more common.

Tree lizard distribution and mating system: the influence of habitat and food resources

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2083-2089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. M'Closkey ◽  
Richard J. Deslippe ◽  
Christopher P. Szpak ◽  
Keith A. Baia
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Soil Hardness ◽  
Male Tree ◽  
Tree Lizards ◽  
Tree Lizard

We examined the distribution of an insectivorous iguanid lizard (Iguanidae: Urosaurus ornatus, tree lizard) in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona in 1984, 1986, and 1987. The purpose of the investigation was to examine the ecological correlates of lizard distribution and mating system. Data from 420 marked lizards which were captured 1552 times provided information on habitat-level differences in lizard numbers and characteristics of home ranges in which oviposition occurred. In addition, we evaluated the role of arthropod food resources in the distribution of female home range and in the mating status of males. In dry washes tree lizards occupied mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) trees, whereas in flatland habitat they lived in mesquite trees and other sites (dead mesquite and saguaro cactus, Carnegeia gigantea). Lizards were more abundant in dry washes than flatland habitat. The lizard mating system was variable and a greater proportion of males were polygynous in wash (33–67%) compared with flatland (7–33%) habitat. In the flatland, home ranges in which females oviposited could be distinguished from vacant sites by soil hardness, shrub cover, and the presence of wood rat (Neotoma albigula) nests. Arthropod abundance did not differ between female home ranges and nearest vacant site nor between habitats and among male territories. Therefore, food resource distribution does not appear to be a determinant of either female distribution or territory quality in male tree lizards.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document