A dental microwear study of seaweed-eating and grazing sheep from Orkney

The potential of dental microwear for recognizing the use of seaweed as fodder in the past is explored through the analysis of microwear patterning in modern seaweed-eating and grazing sheep from Orkney. Seaweed-eating and grazing sheep are clearly distinguished on the basis of microscopic dental wear patterns. This reflects an emphasis on anterior-posterior jaw movements and large pitted features in the seaweed-eaters and can be attributed to the differing forces and/or masticatory movements required in the comminution of grasses and seaweed. Differences between seaweed-eating and grazing individuals are maintained when the grazing group is expanded to include grazing sheep from Greenland and the Scottish borders. It is concluded that the microwear of seaweed-eating sheep is highly distinctive and that dental microwear analysis potentially has a widespread application for identifying seaweed grazing within Scotland and the North Atlantic islands.