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This paper presents the results of a study on the isotopic ecology of guanacos in central western Argentina. We examine the historical population ecology of guanacos using stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from pre-Hispanic and modern guanaco populations (n = 129), considering variability in two ecoregions: the Monte hot desert and the Andean-Patagonian cold desert. Our study addresses the consistency of guanaco diets over time, evaluating palaeoecology to provide information for conservation of this taxon. We found significant differences in isotopic niche size between modern and archaeological guanacos. When analyzed by ecoregion, there were significant differences in niche size through time, indicating that guanacos had distinctive dietary habits and occupied different ecological niches across the ecoregions. Comparing Standard Ellipse Areas (SEA) through time and across space, we observed that the archaeological SEA for guanacos is smaller than its modern counterpart in the Andean-Patagonia ecoregion. Conversely, in Monte, the archaeological SEA is larger than the one established for modern samples. The contrast between pre-Hispanic and modern populations highlight the impact of human activity and conservation efforts on the distribution and ecology of guanacos. These findings have important implications for understanding guanaco ecology with consequences for conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeology is the study of animal remains (bone, shell, antler, and other organic tissues) from archaeological sites, which can provide conservation biologists with data on human–environmental interactions with greater time depth than historical records. Such data are of interest because they can be used to study whether or not contemporary animal communities (in this case of freshwater mussels) have changed in terms of species composition or range as a result of human-induced changes to habitat, which is essential for determining a species’ conservation status and formulating actions to protect remaining populations. This study considers whether or not the taxonomic composition of the freshwater mussel community from the Leon River in central Texas differs between the late Holocene and today. Specifically, we analyzed two zooarchaeological assemblages and compared those results with recent surveys conducted within the Leon River. Three species proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act are found in the zooarchaeological record, of which two are now extirpated from the river basin (Truncilla macrodon and Fusconaia mitchelli). The results of this study provide an example of how zooarchaeological data can be used to evaluate mussel community change through time and provide evidence of range curtailment for threatened mussel species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the human transport of mussel shell and the potential of zooarchaeological data. The study uses freshwater mussel shells from prehistoric sites in the Tombigbee River basin of Mississippi and Alabama. The study reveals that the archaeological data indicates that all or most of the shell recovered from specific sites came from waterways adjacent to the sites.