To start using the isotope explorer select one or more animals from animal_id. You can change the type of plot from isospace to a timeseries for either carbon or nitrogen isotope values where the x axis is the position the sample was taken along the plate. Closer to the root is to the left and indicates the most recent material and as you move to the right on the x axis you are moving back in time through the whales life toward the distal tip of the plate.
Acknowledgments: Baleen plates were generously loaned for sampling thanks to Keith Rittmaster (North Carolina Maritime Museum); Ann Pabst and William McLellan (University of North Carolina Wilmington); John Ososky, Charlie Potter, and Michael McGowan (National Museum of Natural History); Benjamin Hess and Lisa Gatens (North Carolina Science Museum); Judy Chupasko (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard); Robert Feranec (New York State Museum).