Palaeobiodiversity research based on stable isotopes: Correction of the sea spray effect on bone carbonate δ13C and δ18O by Gaussian Mixture Model clustering

GMM clustering on terrestrial herbivorous and marine piscivorous mammals was used to confirm the existing influence and to validate the approximated correction for the sea spray effect in the respective isotopic ratios (δ13Ccarb, δ18Ocarb, δ34Scoll) and the correction for the limnic influence on δ15Ncoll approximated in a previous study. After correction, the clustering results markedly changed corresponding to the actual diet and habitat preference of the examined species. Although our study focused on palaeoecology, we suggest that GMM clustering also constitutes a very useful tool for modern landscape ecology based on stable isotope analyses.