Isotopic variability of short-tailed Albatrosses bone collagen (<i>Phoebastria albatrus</i>) in the Bering Sea area during the holocene

The short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) is a rare bird species today, whose numbers declined significantly in the Holocene due to human fishing activities. Bone remains of albatrosses from archaeological sites of Chukotka, Kamchatka and Aleutian Islands, and from coastal sediments of the Commander Islands were used to analyze the content of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen. Analysis showed that the isotopic niches of Aleutian and Commander albatrosses diverged during the Holocene. Short-tailed albatrosses of the Aleutian Islands are closer to Holocene albatrosses of Vancouver Island (Canada) by isotopic characteristics.