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The so-called man-eating wolves of Turku, a pack of three wolves, reportedly killed 22 children in South-Western Finland in 1880–1881. Enormous efforts were carried out to eradicate them. In January 1882 the last remaining wolf was killed. Since then, there has been considerable debate regarding the validity and extent of the man-eating behaviour. This study aims to clarify whether man-eating behaviour can be observed from the remains of these wolves. One of the wolves was mounted in 1882 and is on display at St. Olaf's school in Turku, enabling us to collect hair keratin samples. Additionally, hair keratin was collected from two other suspected man-eaters. We analysed carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope values to study the wolf's diet during the last months of its life. Samples from seven temporally concurrent wolves were used to construct reference values. Our analyses indicated that δ15N values of suspected man-eaters were relatively low compared to the reference sample. We could not detect clear trends in isotope ratios associated with potential man-eating behavior. We believe that this lack of distinctive patterns can be explained by the relatively minor role that man-eating played in their overall diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the changes in food consumption patterns throughout the lives of five individuals (n=5), one subadult and four adults, found in archaeological sites of El Remate, Bajo los Cardones and Finca Cruz. All of them are associated with the Formative period (ca. 2500 - 1000 years B. P.) and are located in the Quebrada de Amaicha (Tucumán, Argentina). We propose an analysis of the carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition in the dentin of different sections of the same tooth and in different teeth of the five individuals. This approach sheds light on the way in which the characteristics of children's diets affect their adulthood, as well as providing a more inclusive perspective on consumption patterns in the agropastoralist societies of the study area by integrating young individuals into the analysis. Little intravariation and intervariation was found, with a predominance of food resources framed in the C4 photosynthetic pattern. The exception is an individual, probably female, whose diet was based on C3 resources during the first period of life. This could be the result of the existence of a "childhood diet" or of a change in geographic residence, with both areas being isotopically distinguishable. Finally, we illustrate the methodological steps required to reconstruct life histories through the serial study of human dental pieces. This is a novel approach, which has been applied to human remains from the Argentine Northwest for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen is a powerful tool in many ecological studies, but different sample treatments may affect stable isotope ratios and hamper comparisons among studies. The goal of this study was to determine whether treatments that are commonly used to prepare scleractinian coral samples for stable isotope analysis yield different δ15N and δ13C values, and to provide guidelines toward a standardised protocol. Methods: The animal tissues and Symbiodiniaceae of two symbiotic scleractinian coral species (Stylophora pistillata and Porites lutea) were divided into subsamples to test the effects of the drying method, lipid extraction, acidification treatment and water washing. All the subsamples were analysed for their δ15N and δ13C values, using continuous flow elemental analyser/isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Results: The drying method and lipid extraction treatment had no substantial effects on the δ15N and δ13C values of Symbiodiniaceae and animal tissues. Acid treatment did cause significant differences in δ13C values (mean differences ≤0.5‰, with individual samples becoming up to 2.0‰ more negative), whereas no ecologically significant differences were observed in δ15N values. Animal tissue δ13C values may vary depending on whether samples are washed or not. Conclusions: To move towards a standardised protocol in coral research, we recommend using an available drying method (as they are equally acceptable) for the stable isotope analysis of scleractinian corals, examining the need for lipid extraction on a case‐by‐case basis, performing a direct acidification of Symbiodiniaceae and animal tissues, and avoiding washing animal tissue with distilled water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]