A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory
Although mammoth ivory was claimed as a substitute to elephant ivory, there are several issues with the current methods to differentiate the two ivory, which provided a loophole to laundering and illegal trade. To contribute to developing efficient tools to distinguish ivory samples, we applied a re...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1533703/full |
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| author | Maria E. A. Santos Maria E. A. Santos Pavel Toropov Pihu Agarwal Pihu Agarwal Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Hannah Bethany Tilley Wilson Wan Zhongyue Jovy Chan David Michael Baker David Michael Baker |
| author_facet | Maria E. A. Santos Maria E. A. Santos Pavel Toropov Pihu Agarwal Pihu Agarwal Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Hannah Bethany Tilley Wilson Wan Zhongyue Jovy Chan David Michael Baker David Michael Baker |
| author_sort | Maria E. A. Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although mammoth ivory was claimed as a substitute to elephant ivory, there are several issues with the current methods to differentiate the two ivory, which provided a loophole to laundering and illegal trade. To contribute to developing efficient tools to distinguish ivory samples, we applied a relatively cheap and fast protocol using stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), hydrogen (δ2H), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), and sulfur (δ34S). We compared the isotope ratios of the two ivory types and found statistically significant (p-value<0.01) differences in the Wilcoxon tests for δ2H, δ18O, δ13C and δ34S, but no significant difference for δ15N. There was no overlap between δ2H and a small overlap for δ18O, while δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S of most mammoth samples were within the larger isotopic range values of the elephant samples. The PCA also pointed to a higher contribution of δ2H (96.9%) followed by δ18O (2.7%) to differentiate the ivory types. Our results showed SIA as an efficient tool to distinguish elephant and mammoth ivory, and we recommend using a multi-elements SIA approach focusing on δ2H and δ18O. While it is essential to address the social issues related to the ivory trade, including reducing human-elephant conflict and increasing financial support to Siberian carver communities, alternatives for natural ivory should also be sought, combined with strict policy changes to combat illegal trade and protect the African and Asian elephant populations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df4bf17dadf14f8ea110938bb355d9ec |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-df4bf17dadf14f8ea110938bb355d9ec2025-08-20T03:24:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2025-06-011310.3389/fevo.2025.15337031533703A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivoryMaria E. A. Santos0Maria E. A. Santos1Pavel Toropov2Pihu Agarwal3Pihu Agarwal4Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot5Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot6Hannah Bethany Tilley7Wilson Wan Zhongyue8Jovy Chan9David Michael Baker10David Michael Baker11Coral Biogeochemistry Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaConservation Forensics Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCommunications and Public Affairs Office, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCoral Biogeochemistry Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaConservation Forensics Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCoral Biogeochemistry Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaConservation Forensics Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaApplied Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCoral Biogeochemistry Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaWorld Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCoral Biogeochemistry Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaConservation Forensics Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaAlthough mammoth ivory was claimed as a substitute to elephant ivory, there are several issues with the current methods to differentiate the two ivory, which provided a loophole to laundering and illegal trade. To contribute to developing efficient tools to distinguish ivory samples, we applied a relatively cheap and fast protocol using stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), hydrogen (δ2H), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), and sulfur (δ34S). We compared the isotope ratios of the two ivory types and found statistically significant (p-value<0.01) differences in the Wilcoxon tests for δ2H, δ18O, δ13C and δ34S, but no significant difference for δ15N. There was no overlap between δ2H and a small overlap for δ18O, while δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S of most mammoth samples were within the larger isotopic range values of the elephant samples. The PCA also pointed to a higher contribution of δ2H (96.9%) followed by δ18O (2.7%) to differentiate the ivory types. Our results showed SIA as an efficient tool to distinguish elephant and mammoth ivory, and we recommend using a multi-elements SIA approach focusing on δ2H and δ18O. While it is essential to address the social issues related to the ivory trade, including reducing human-elephant conflict and increasing financial support to Siberian carver communities, alternatives for natural ivory should also be sought, combined with strict policy changes to combat illegal trade and protect the African and Asian elephant populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1533703/fullconservation forensicsillegal tradelaunderingmammothstable isotope analysespermafrost |
| spellingShingle | Maria E. A. Santos Maria E. A. Santos Pavel Toropov Pihu Agarwal Pihu Agarwal Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Pierre Archimede Jonathan Frichot Hannah Bethany Tilley Wilson Wan Zhongyue Jovy Chan David Michael Baker David Michael Baker A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution conservation forensics illegal trade laundering mammoth stable isotope analyses permafrost |
| title | A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| title_full | A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| title_fullStr | A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| title_full_unstemmed | A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| title_short | A mammoth task: stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| title_sort | mammoth task stable isotope analyses as a tool to prevent illegal trade of elephant ivory |
| topic | conservation forensics illegal trade laundering mammoth stable isotope analyses permafrost |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1533703/full |
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