Date of Award
8-17-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Strontium isotope analysis is a technique that can be used to infer the geographic origin of biological materials. The strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of biological tissues can be matched to locations on a modeled strontium geographic distribution (“isoscape”) with similar 87Sr/86Sr. In this dissertation, I measured 87Sr/86Sr and other stable isotopes along the length of a mammoth tusk to model its lifetime movement and infer details about its food sources and nutritional status. I then adapted this modeling method to caribou tooth enamel to compare modern and premodern caribou space use in interior Alaska and built a new 87Sr/86Sr isoscape of interior Alaska and western Yukon with 87Sr/86Sr data from analyses of small rodent teeth. Finally, I added vegetation measurements to the isoscape model in northern Alaska, showing that vascular and non-vascular plants do not differ in 87Sr/86Sr in this region, and argued that further improvement of the isoscape of the region is necessary. Overall, the research completed in this dissertation expanded on the use of 87Sr/86Sr in reconstructing the movement of large mammals, and improved the potential for this proxy to be used in broader provenance and mobility studies in Alaska.
Recommended Citation
Rowe, Audrey, "Strontium isotope movement modeling of modern and ancient megafauna in Alaska" (2025). Biological Sciences. 523.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_bio_sciences/523
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/16271