Applying the principles of isotope analysis in plant and animal ecology to forensic science in the Americas.

The heart of forensic science is application of the scientific method and analytical approaches to answer questions central to solving a crime: Who, What, When, Where, and How. Forensic practitioners use fundamentals of chemistry and physics to examine evidence and infer its origin. In this regard, ecological researchers have had a significant impact on forensic science through the development and application of a specialized measurement technique-isotope analysis-for examining evidence.

TATP isotope ratios as influenced by worldwide acetone variation.

Isotope ratio analysis has been shown to discriminate samples of forensic interest and to link many synthesized and natural materials to their precursors when traditional chemical and physical analyses cannot. Successful application of stable isotope analysis to chemicals of interest requires a background of likely variations in stable isotope ratios; often, this background population can be generated from analysis of possible precursors and the relationships of stable isotopes of precursor(s) to product(s), which may depend on synthesis techniques. Here we measured the carbon (C/C) and hydrogen (H/H) isotope ratios of the oft-illicitly manufactured explosive triacetone triperoxide, TATP, and one of its precursors, acetone.

Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade.

Carbon-14 measurements on 231 elephant ivory specimens from 14 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 ton) made between 2002 and 2014 show that most ivory (ca 90%) was derived from animals that had died less than 3 y before ivory was confiscated. This indicates that the assumption of recent elephant death for mortality estimates of African elephants is correct: Very little "old" ivory is included in large ivory shipments from Africa.

Urban water - a new frontier in isotope hydrology.

Isotope hydrology has focused largely on landscapes away from densely inhabited regions. In coming decades, it will become increasingly more important to focus on water supplies and dynamics within urban systems. Stable isotope analyses provide important information to water managers within large cities, particularly in arid regions where evaporative histories of water sources, vulnerabilities, and reliabilities of the water supplies can be major issues.

The influences of cultivation setting on inflorescence lipid distributions, concentrations, and carbon isotope ratios of Cannabis sp.

While much is known about how the growth environment influences many aspects of floral morphology and physiology, little is known about how the growth setting influences floral lipid composition. We explored variations in paraffin wax composition in Cannabis sp., a cash crop grown both indoors and outdoors across the United States today.