Isotopic evidence concerning the habitat of Nautilus macromphalus in New Caledonia

Modern nautilids (Nautilus and Allonautilus) have often been studied by paleontologists to better understand the anatomy and ecology of fossil relatives. Because direct observations of these animals are difficult, the analysis of light stable isotopes (C, O) preserved in their shells has been employed to reveal their habitat and life history. We aim to (1) reconstruct the habitat depth of Nautilus macromphalus and (2) decipher the fraction of metabolic carbon in its shell by analyzing oxygen and carbon isotopes (δ18O, δ13C) in the septa of two specimens in combination with analyses of water samples from the area. Additionally, we investigate whether morphological changes during ontogeny are reflected in the isotopic values of the shells. Results reveal that the patterns of change of δ18O and δ13C in the septa of N. macromphalus pre- and post-hatching are consistent with previous studies. Values of δ18Owater range from 0.7 to 1.4‰ (VSMOW), with a maximum value coincident with a salinity maximum at ~150 m. We use the temperature and δ18Owater profiles to calculate equilibrium values of δ18Oaragonite with depth. Comparing these values with the measured δ18O of the septa shows that the habitat depth of N. macromphalus is ~140 m pre-hatching and ~370 m post-hatching. Using δ13C of shell carbonate and published data on metabolic carbon, the fraction of metabolic carbon is reconstructed as ~21% and 14% pre- and post-hatching, respectively. The reconstructed depth pre-hatching is slightly shallower than in N. pompilius from the Philippines and Fiji, but the post-hatching depth is similar. However, it is important to emphasize that these estimates represent average over time and space because nautilus is a mobile animal. Lastly, the changes in morphological parameters and the changes in δ13C and δ18O during ontogeny do not coincide except at hatching and at the onset of maturity.

[1]  N. Landman,et al.  Significance of the suture line in cephalopod taxonomy revealed by 3D morphometrics in the modern nautilids Nautilus and Allonautilus , 2021, Scientific reports.

[2]  C. John,et al.  Evidence of taxonomic non-equilibrium effects in the clumped isotope composition of modern cephalopod carbonate , 2021 .

[3]  K. Shirai,et al.  Metabolic proxy for cephalopods: Stable carbon isotope values recorded in different biogenic carbonates , 2020, Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

[4]  N. Landman,et al.  Patterns of intraspecific variation through ontogeny: a case study of the Cretaceous nautilid Eutrephoceras dekayi and modern Nautilus pompilius , 2020, Palaeontology.

[5]  C. Klug,et al.  How many ontogenetic points are needed to accurately describe the ontogeny of a cephalopod conch? A case study of the modern nautilid Nautilus pompilius , 2020, PeerJ.

[6]  R. Hoffmann,et al.  Chamber volume development, metabolic rates, and selective extinction in cephalopods , 2020, Scientific Reports.

[7]  B. Linzmeier.  Refining the interpretation of oxygen isotope variability in free-swimming organisms , 2018, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology.

[8]  S. Peters,et al.  Ion microprobe–measured stable isotope evidence for ammonite habitat and life mode during early ontogeny , 2018, Paleobiology.

[9]  N. Landman,et al.  Isotope sclerochronology of ammonites (Baculites Compressus) from methane seep and non-seep sites in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, USA: Implications for ammonite habitat and mode of life , 2018, American Journal of Science.

[10]  N. Landman,et al.  Nautilid nurseries: hatchlings and juveniles of Eutrephoceras dekayi from the lower Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Pierre Shale of east-central Montana , 2018 .

[11]  E. Pape.  Biogeochemical evidence for chemosymbiosis in the fossil record , 2016 .

[12]  S. Peters,et al.  Oxygen Isotope Variability within Nautilus Shell Growth Bands , 2016, PloS one.

[13]  K. Moriya.  Evolution of habitat depth in the Jurassic–Cretaceous ammonoids , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[14]  Kimberly C. Meehan,et al.  Geochemical evidence (C and Sr isotopes) for methane seeps as ammonite habitats in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Western Interior Seaway , 2015, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology.

[15]  Tsuzumi Miyaji,et al.  Inconsistent oxygen isotopic values between contemporary secreted septa and outer shell walls in modern Nautilus , 2015 .

[16]  P. Ward,et al.  Carbon isotope (δ13C) differences between Late Cretaceous ammonites and benthic mollusks from Antarctica , 2015 .

[17]  J. Sessa,et al.  Ammonite habitat revealed via isotopic composition and comparisons with co-occurring benthic and planktonic organisms , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[18]  R. Feely,et al.  Decadal (1994–2008) change in the carbon isotope ratio in the eastern South Pacific Ocean , 2014 .

[19]  Y. Shigeta,et al.  Biological response to experimental damage of the phragmocone and siphuncle in Nautilus pompilius Linnaeus , 2012 .

[20]  P. Harries,et al.  Methane seeps as ammonite habitats in the U.S. Western Interior Seaway revealed by isotopic analyses of well-preserved shell material , 2012 .

[21]  S. Seifert,et al.  Oxygen and stable carbon isotopes from a nautiloid from the middle Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) impregnation Lagerstätte ‘Buckhorn Asphalt Quarry’ — Primary paleo-environmental signals versus diagenesis , 2012 .

[22]  M. Joachimski,et al.  Aturia from the Miocene Paratethys : An exceptional window on nautilid habitat and lifestyle , 2011 .

[23]  N. Marshall,et al.  Vertical Distribution and Migration Patterns of Nautilus pompilius , 2011, PloS one.

[24]  P. Ward,et al.  Adolescent Growth and Maturity in Nautilus , 2010 .

[25]  N. Landman,et al.  Growth and Longevity of Nautilus , 2010 .

[26]  W. Saunders.  The Species of Nautilus , 2010 .

[27]  T. McConnaughey,et al.  Carbon isotopes in mollusk shell carbonates , 2008 .

[28]  A. Lorrain,et al.  A large metabolic carbon contribution to the δ13C record in marine aragonitic bivalve shells , 2007 .

[29]  A. Ignatiev,et al.  Relationship between δ13C and δ18O values of the RecentNautilus and brachiopod shells in the wild and the problem of reconstruction of fossil cephalopod habitat , 2006 .

[30]  C. Lécuyer,et al.  Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of Nautilus macromphalus: a record of thermocline waters off New Caledonia , 2004 .

[31]  M. Rodier,et al.  Seasonal variations of phosphate availability in the SW Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia , 2004 .

[32]  T. Corrège,et al.  Oxygen isotope systematics in Diploastrea heliopora: new coral archive of tropical paleoclimate , 2003 .

[33]  H. Kawahata,et al.  Demersal habitat of Late Cretaceous ammonoids: Evidence from oxygen isotopes for the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) northwestern Pacific thermal structure , 2003 .

[34]  K. Tanabe,et al.  Hatching of Nautilus Macromphalus in the Tobaaquarium, Japan , 1999 .

[35]  Sang-Tae Kim,et al.  Equilibrium and nonequilibrium oxygen isotope effects in synthetic carbonates , 1997 .

[36]  C. Paull,et al.  CARBON ISOTOPES IN BIOLOGICAL CARBONATES : RESPIRATION AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS , 1997 .

[37]  N. Landman,et al.  Early life history of Nautilus: evidence from isotopic analyses of aquarium-reared specimens , 1994, Paleobiology.

[38]  T. Oba,et al.  Early life history and habitat of Nautilus pompilius inferred from oxygen isotope examinations , 1992 .

[39]  C. Romanek,et al.  Carbon isotopic fractionation in synthetic aragonite and calcite: Effects of temperature and precipitation rate , 1992 .

[40]  J. D. Hudson,et al.  Ocean temperatures and isotopic compositions through time , 1989, Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

[41]  D. Donahue,et al.  Bomb-produced radiocarbon in the shell of the chambered nautilus: rate of growth and age at maturity , 1988 .

[42]  P. Ward.  The natural history of Nautilus , 1987 .

[43]  T. Ku,et al.  OXYGEN AND CARBON ISOTOPE FRACTIONATION IN BIOGENIC ARAGONITE: TEMPERATURE EFFECTS , 1986 .

[44]  M. J. Deniro,et al.  Stable isotopic investigations of early development in extant and fossil chambered cephalopods I. Oxygen isotopic composition of eggwater and carbon isotopic composition of siphuncle organic matter in Nautilus , 1985 .

[45]  P. Ward.  Periodicity of chamber formation in chambered cephalopods: evidence from Nautilus macromphalus and Nautilus pompilius , 1985, Paleobiology.

[46]  K. Ōki,et al.  Environmental Background of the Habitat of Nautilus off the Southeast Coast of Viti Levu, Fiji , 1985 .

[47]  P. Ward,et al.  Remote telemetry of daily vertical and horizontal movement of Nautilus in Palau , 1984, Nature.

[48]  N. Landman,et al.  Radiometric determination of the growth rate of Nautilus in nature , 1984, Nature.

[49]  N. Landman,et al.  Early ontogeny of Eutrephoceras compared to Recent Nautilus and Mesozoic ammonites: evidence from shell morphology and light stable isotopes , 1983, Paleobiology.

[50]  P. Ward,et al.  Stable isotopic studies of Nautilus macromphalus sowerby (new Caledonia) and Nautilus pompilius L. (Fiji) , 1983 .

[51]  T. Hamada,et al.  Field Study on the Habitat of Nautilus in the Environs of Cebu and Negros Islands, the Philippines , 1982 .

[52]  N. Landman,et al.  Growth rate and habitat of Nautilus pompilius inferred from radioactive and stable isotope studies , 1981, Paleobiology.

[53]  D. Rye,et al.  Reconstructing paleotemperature and paleosalinity regimes with oxygen isotopes , 1980 .

[54]  C. Spinosa,et al.  Nautilus Movement and Distribution in Palau, Western Caroline Islands , 1979, Science.

[55]  A. W. Martin,et al.  Shell repair in Nautilus macromphalus , 1974 .

[56]  R. Eichler,et al.  Isotopic Evidence on the Early Life History of Nautilus pompilius (Linn�) , 1966, Science.