Life history in primate teeth is revealed by changes in major and minor element concentrations measured via field-emission SEM-EDS analysis.

ABSTRACT: Overcoming the non-specificity of histological accentuated growth lines in hard tissues is an ongoing challenge. Identifying season at death and reproductive events has profound implications for evolutionary, ecological and conservation studies. Dental cementum is a mineralized tissue with yearly periodicity that continues deposition from tooth formation until death, maintaining a record spanning almost the entire life of an individual. Recent work has successfully employed elemental analysis of calcified incremental tissues to detect changes in extrinsic conditions such as diet and climate and to identify two important life-history milestones: weaning and sexual maturity. Here, we employ field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis to measure the relati

SUBMITTER: Cerrito P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9846430 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature