Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species
In ecology, stable‐isotope ratios are widely used to determine diets of organisms and reconstruct food webs. This is usually done by analyzing the stable‐isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N), which increase with increasing trophic level, and those of carbon (δ13C), which correlate with the δ13C value o...
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Wiley
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Avian Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03094 |
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| author | Tim Oortwijn Luc G. G. de Monte Daniel P. Varley Marcel T. J. van der Meer Jan A. van Gils |
| author_facet | Tim Oortwijn Luc G. G. de Monte Daniel P. Varley Marcel T. J. van der Meer Jan A. van Gils |
| author_sort | Tim Oortwijn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In ecology, stable‐isotope ratios are widely used to determine diets of organisms and reconstruct food webs. This is usually done by analyzing the stable‐isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N), which increase with increasing trophic level, and those of carbon (δ13C), which correlate with the δ13C value of food source(s) and generally differ between terrestrial and marine food sources. Assimilation of food changes stable‐isotope ratios, resulting in different values between the food source and its consumer. These differences are known as isotope trophic discrimination factors and, if known, can be used to determine from the stable‐isotope ratios in the consumer's tissue what the consumer has been eating. What is often ignored is that discrimination factors can differ between consumer's food sources and also between tissue types. Therefore, we performed a controlled feeding study in red knots Calidris canutus to determine discrimination factors between different food sources and red knot tissues. We kept two groups of red knots in captivity on a stable diet, one group feeding on mudsnails and the other on Trouvit pellets, for several months, during which the birds molted their feathers. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N in both food sources and in five red knot tissues (blood cells, blood plasma and three feather types) and subsequently calculated the isotope discrimination factors. We confirmed that the discrimination factors differed between tissues, and also between diets. Our values deviated from general averages reported in reviews on a wide range of animals/birds, but were very similar to values from previous red knot and dunlin studies. We therefore think that our discrimination factors can be used in future stable isotope studies, not only on red knots, but also on other marine shorebird species and plea for careful consideration of using the right discrimination factors. Keywords: δ13C, δ15N, discrimination factor, red knot, shorebird, stable isotope |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ce4da5dcdc74493f9c51ec66d2daae8a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0908-8857 1600-048X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Avian Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-ce4da5dcdc74493f9c51ec66d2daae8a2025-08-20T03:28:25ZengWileyJournal of Avian Biology0908-88571600-048X2023-09-0120239-10n/an/a10.1111/jav.03094Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird speciesTim Oortwijn0Luc G. G. de Monte1Daniel P. Varley2Marcel T. J. van der Meer3Jan A. van Gils4Dept Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research Den Burg (Texel) the NetherlandsDept Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research Den Burg (Texel) the NetherlandsDept Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research Den Burg (Texel) the NetherlandsDept Marine Microbiology and Biochemistry (MMB), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research Den Burg (Texel) the NetherlandsDept Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research Den Burg (Texel) the NetherlandsIn ecology, stable‐isotope ratios are widely used to determine diets of organisms and reconstruct food webs. This is usually done by analyzing the stable‐isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N), which increase with increasing trophic level, and those of carbon (δ13C), which correlate with the δ13C value of food source(s) and generally differ between terrestrial and marine food sources. Assimilation of food changes stable‐isotope ratios, resulting in different values between the food source and its consumer. These differences are known as isotope trophic discrimination factors and, if known, can be used to determine from the stable‐isotope ratios in the consumer's tissue what the consumer has been eating. What is often ignored is that discrimination factors can differ between consumer's food sources and also between tissue types. Therefore, we performed a controlled feeding study in red knots Calidris canutus to determine discrimination factors between different food sources and red knot tissues. We kept two groups of red knots in captivity on a stable diet, one group feeding on mudsnails and the other on Trouvit pellets, for several months, during which the birds molted their feathers. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N in both food sources and in five red knot tissues (blood cells, blood plasma and three feather types) and subsequently calculated the isotope discrimination factors. We confirmed that the discrimination factors differed between tissues, and also between diets. Our values deviated from general averages reported in reviews on a wide range of animals/birds, but were very similar to values from previous red knot and dunlin studies. We therefore think that our discrimination factors can be used in future stable isotope studies, not only on red knots, but also on other marine shorebird species and plea for careful consideration of using the right discrimination factors. Keywords: δ13C, δ15N, discrimination factor, red knot, shorebird, stable isotopehttps://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03094 |
| spellingShingle | Tim Oortwijn Luc G. G. de Monte Daniel P. Varley Marcel T. J. van der Meer Jan A. van Gils Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species Journal of Avian Biology |
| title | Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| title_full | Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| title_fullStr | Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| title_short | Tissue‐ and diet‐dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination: a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| title_sort | tissue and diet dependent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination a calibration study in a captive shorebird species |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03094 |
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