Data from: Eocene shark teeth from peninsular Antarctica: Windows to habitat use and paleoceanography ...

• Main Authors: Larocca Conte, Gabriele, Aleksinski, Adam, Liao, Ashley, Kriwet, Jürgen, Mörs, Thomas, Trayler, Robin, Ivany, Linda, Huber, Matthew, Kim, Sora
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2024
• Subjects: FOS: Other natural sciences; Sharks; Climate modeling; Paleoecology; Eocene epoch; Drake Passage; Antarctica; Paleotemperature; Ocean temperature; Climate change; Oxygen isotope analysis; Seymour; Seymour Island; Southern Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qz612jmq2; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.qz612jmq2

Eocene climate cooling, driven by the falling pCO2 and tectonic changes in the Southern Ocean, impacted marine ecosystems. Sharks in high-latitude oceans, sensitive to these changes, offer insights into both environmental shifts and biological responses, yet few paleoecological studies exist. The Middle-to-Late Eocene units on Seymour Island, Antarctica, provide a rich, diverse fossil record, including sharks. We analyzed the oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from shark tooth bioapatite (δ18Op) and compared our results to co-occurring bivalves and predictions from an isotope-enabled global climate model to investigate habitat use and environmental conditions. Bulk δ18Op values (mean 22.0 ± 1.3‰) show no significant changes through the Eocene. Furthermore, the variation in bulk δ18Op values often exceeds that in simulated seasonal and regional values. Pelagic and benthic sharks exhibit similar δ18Op values across units but are offset relative to bivalve and modeled values. Some taxa suggest movements ... : See methods in Larocca Conte, G., Aleksinski, A., Liao, A., Kriwet, J., Mörs, T., Trayler, R. B., Ivany, L. C., Huber, M., Kim, S. L. (2024). A proximal perspective to the Eocene Drake Passage: environmental reconstruction and habitat use based on fossil shark teeth from Seymour Island, Antarctica. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (in review). ...