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Dierickx K, Oueslati T, Profico A. Geometric morphometric analysis of Pleuronectiformes vertebrae: A new tool to identify archaeological fish remains? J Anat 2023; 243:982-996. [PMID: 37492024 PMCID: PMC10641040 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) vertebrae are difficult to identify to species due to the lack of diagnostic features. This has resulted in a lack of understanding of the species abundances across archaeological sites, hindering interpretations of historical fisheries in the North Sea area. We use a new approach, utilising a combined 2D landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis as an objective and non-destructive method for species identification of flatfish vertebrae from the North Sea area. Modern specimens were used as a reference to describe the morphological variation between taxa using principal component analysis (PCA) and to trial an automated classification using linear discriminant analysis. Although there is limited distinction between taxa using PCAs, the classification shows high accuracies, indicating that flatfish species identifications using geometric morphometrics are possible. Bone samples (n = 105) from two archaeological sites in the United Kingdom and France were analysed using this approach and their identifications were verified using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting. The success rate of species identification was usually less than 50%, indicating that this technique has limited applicability due to preservation/fragmentation of archaeological fish bone. Nonetheless, this could prove a valuable tool for modern and non-fragmented samples. Furthermore, the technique applied in this study can be easily adapted to work on other landmark datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrien Dierickx
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of YorkYorkUK
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural HistoryNTNU University MuseumTrondheimNorway
| | - Tarek Oueslati
- Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueUniversity of LilleLilleFrance
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Winter RM, de Kock W, Mackie M, Ramsøe M, Desiderà E, Collins M, Guidetti P, Presslee S, Alegre MM, Oueslati T, Muniz AM, Michailidis D, van den Hurk Y, Taurozzi AJ, Çakirlar C. Grouping groupers in the Mediterranean: Ecological baselines revealed by ancient proteins. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10625. [PMID: 37877101 PMCID: PMC10591212 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine historical ecology provides a means to establish baselines to inform current fisheries management. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are key species for fisheries in the Mediterranean, which have been heavily overfished. Species abundance and distribution prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. To reconstruct the past biogeography of Mediterranean groupers, we investigated whether Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can be used for identifying intra-genus grouper bones to species level. We discovered 22 novel, species-specific ZooMS biomarkers for groupers. Applying these biomarkers to Kinet Höyük, a Mediterranean archaeological site, demonstrated 4000 years of regional Epinephelus aeneus dominance and resiliency through millennia of fishing pressures, habitat degradation and climatic changes. Combining ZooMS identifications with catch size reconstructions revealed the Epinephelus aeneus capacity for growing 30 cm larger than hitherto documented, revising the maximum Total Length from 120 to 150 cm. Our results provide ecological baselines for a key Mediterranean fishery which could be leveraged to define and assess conservation targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel M. Winter
- Groningen Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Willemien de Kock
- Groningen Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
- Marine Evolution and Conservation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Meaghan Mackie
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, The Globe InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein ResearchUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Max Ramsøe
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, The Globe InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Elena Desiderà
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI)Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn–National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and Biotechnology—Genoa Marine CentreGenoaItaly
| | - Matthew Collins
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, The Globe InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Paolo Guidetti
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI)Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn–National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and Biotechnology—Genoa Marine CentreGenoaItaly
| | | | | | - Tarek Oueslati
- Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueUniversity of LilleLilleFrance
| | | | - Dimitris Michailidis
- Malcolm H. Wiener Lab, American School of Classical Studies at AthensAthensGreece
| | - Youri van den Hurk
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural HistoryNorwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheimNorway
| | - Alberto J. Taurozzi
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, The Globe InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Canan Çakirlar
- Groningen Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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Dierickx K, Presslee S, Hagan R, Oueslati T, Harland J, Hendy J, Orton D, Alexander M, Harvey VL. Peptide mass fingerprinting of preserved collagen in archaeological fish bones for the identification of flatfish in European waters. R Soc Open Sci 2022; 9:220149. [PMID: 35911190 PMCID: PMC9326269 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Bones of Pleuronectiformes (flatfish) are often not identified to species due to the lack of diagnostic features on bones that allow adequate distinction between taxa. This hinders in-depth understanding of archaeological fish assemblages and particularly flatfish fisheries throughout history. This is especially true for the North Sea region, where several commercially significant species have been exploited for centuries, yet their archaeological remains continue to be understudied. In this research, eight peptide biomarkers for 18 different species of Pleuronectiformes from European waters are described using MALDI-TOF MS and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry data obtained from modern reference specimens. Bone samples (n = 202) from three archaeological sites in the UK and France dating to the medieval period (ca seventh-sixteenth century CE) were analysed using zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS). Of the 201 that produced good quality spectra, 196 were identified as flatfish species, revealing a switch in targeted species through time and indicating that ZooMS offers a more reliable and informative approach for species identification than osteological methods alone. We recommend this approach for future studies of archaeological flatfish remains as the precise species uncovered from a site can tell much about the origin of the fish, where people fished and whether they traded between regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrien Dierickx
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Samantha Presslee
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Richard Hagan
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Tarek Oueslati
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Jennifer Harland
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
- Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Kirkwall, UK
| | - Jessica Hendy
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - David Orton
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Michelle Alexander
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Virginia L. Harvey
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, York, UK
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