Methods and analysis of bat guano cores from caves for paleoecology

Abstract

Whereas bat guano is gaining viability in accurately reconstructing local paleoenvironmental and climatic conditions, overall reviews of methods for analyzing and collecting bat guano cores have received less attention. Guano cores have been collected from several locations (e.g., United States, Romania, Philippines, and southeast Asia), and the processing and collection methods are quite similar despite a lack of standardized techniques. Physical, chemical, and elemental analyses on guano samples have focused on the interpretation of precipitation changes over time, with additional applications from stable isotope analysis being used for other paleoenvironmental conditions. We obtained three bat guano cores from Alabama and Tennessee to evaluate the collecting and processing techniques of guano. Climatic temperature changes were not analyzed in this study. The purpose of this investigation was to summarize multiple techniques and approaches used to process and analyze bat guano cores with a focus on reconstructing paleoclimate in cave environments throughout the globe. From these three cores, we describe challenges and make recommendations for improving guano analysis.