δ13C records from fish fossils as paleo-indicators of ecosystem responses to lake levels in the Plio-Pleistocene lakes of Tugen Hills, Kenya

The carbon isotopic ratios of organic matter in fish fossils from diatomites and other lake beds in the HSPDP drill core from Tugen Hills, Kenya (2.56-3.29 Ma) reflect trophic resource uses and can indicate the dietary habitats of fish in the paleolake. This information offers insight into how fish communities responded to lake-level fluctuations during the Plio-Pleistocene in the East African Rift Valley. We have compared this record with fish fossil isotopes from both a previously published study of a Lake Malawi drill core (139 ka - present) and core top (modern ca 1978) samples collected at the water/sediment boundary from Lake Turkana (Kenya) of known environmental provenance. Both the Lake Malawi drill core fossils (-7.2 parts per thousand to -27.5 parts per thousand VPDB) and modern Lake Turkana samples (-16 parts per thousand to -24.6 parts per thousand VPDB) have delta C-13 values indicating a mix of near-shore and deep-water pelagic species. In contrast, the delta C-13 values for the Tugen Hills core fossils vary only between -20 parts per thousand and -27 parts per thousand VPDB. The absence of delta C-13 values greater than -19 parts per thousand suggests none of these fossils are derived from near-shore benthic habitats. The lack of shallow water, benthic lacustrine fish fossils through the Tugen Hills lake cycles may indicate that the rate of change from low-lake stands to deeper lake phases was very rapid, and shallow water communities were not established for long enough to leave a fish fossil record at the core site. These results strongly suggest that lake-level responses to climate variability in the Baringo Basin of the East African Rift were very abrupt during the Plio-Pleistocene transition.

Automated summary

The carbon isotopic ratios of fish fossils in Tugen Hills, Kenya reveal dietary habitats and responses to lake-level fluctuations, contrasting with Lake Malawi and Lake Turkana records which indicate a mix of near-shore and deep-water species. The absence of near-shore benthic fish fossils in the Tugen Hills core suggests rapid lake-level changes in the East African Rift during the Plio-Pleistocene.