An isotopic study (δ13C, δ18O) of Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) from the late Pleistocene of Brazilian Intertropical Region: Habitat, isotopic diet composition, and isotopic niche overlap with extinct faunivores

Stable isotope analyses offer a useful means for quantifying ecological niche dimensions, though few studies have examined isotopic response of an ecological community with respect to resource gradients such as fluctuations in prey availability. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were measured for Lake Michigan salmonines and their prey collected from 2014 to 2016. Bayesian ellipse and mixing model analyses were used to quantify isotopic niche characteristics and diets, respectively, among species and years. During the three-year study period, abundance and size structure of preferred alewife prey changed substantially and offered an opportunity to explore predator isotopic niche response and diet shifts along a prey resource gradient. Results suggested increased reliance on alewives, especially small alewives, over the study period and were consistent with greater availability of this prey. However, differential use of alewife size classes and alternative prey sources by salmonine predators was apparent, which suggested possible resource partitioning. Characterization of ecological niche overlap using stable isotopes likely requires consideration of shared resource availability as well as specific prey and habitat preferences.

Download Full-text

Feeding ecology and niche overlap of Lake Ontario offshore forage fish assessed with stable isotopes

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2016-0150 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 759-771 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

James A. Mumby ◽

Timothy B. Johnson ◽

Thomas J. Stewart ◽

Edmund A. Halfyard ◽

Brian C. Weidel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Fish Species ◽

Round Goby ◽

Lake Ontario ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Neogobius Melanostomus ◽

Forage Fish ◽

Isotopic Niche ◽

Ecosystem Structure ◽

Rainbow Smelt

The forage fish communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes continue to experience changes that have altered ecosystem structure, yet little is known about how they partition resources. Seasonal, spatial, and body size variation in δ13C and δ15N was used to assess isotopic niche overlap and resource and habitat partitioning among the five common offshore Lake Ontario forage fish species (n = 2037; alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), and deepwater (Myoxocephalus thompsonii) and slimy (Cottus cognatus) sculpins). Round goby had the largest isotopic niche (6.1‰2, standard ellipse area), followed by alewife (3.4‰2), while rainbow smelt, slimy sculpin, and deepwater sculpin had the smallest and similar niche size (1.7‰2–1.8‰2), with only the sculpin species showing significant isotopic niche overlap (>63%). Stable isotopes in alewife, round goby, and rainbow smelt varied with location, season, and size, but did not vary in the sculpin species. Lake Ontario forage fish species have partitioned food and habitat resources, and non-native alewife and round goby have the largest isotopic niche, suggestive of a boarder ecological niche, and may contribute to their current high abundance.

Download Full-text

Loess–paleosol carbonate clumped isotope record of late Pleistocene–Holocene climate change in the Palouse region, Washington State, USA

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2018.47 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 331-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Alex R. Lechler ◽

Katharine W. Huntington ◽

Daniel O. Breecker ◽

Mark R. Sweeney ◽

Andrew J. Schauer

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Climate Model ◽

The United States ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Isotopic Study ◽

The Holocene ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Carbonate Formation ◽

Clumped Isotope

AbstractThe Channeled Scabland–Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States preserves geomorphic and pedosedimentary records that inform understanding of late Pleistocene–Holocene paleoclimate change in a region proximal to the last glacial period Cordilleran Ice Sheet. We present a clumped (Δ47) and conventional (δ18O, δ13C) isotopic study of Palouse loess–paleosol carbonates in combination with carbonate radiocarbon (14C) dating to provide new measures of regional late–last glacial (~31–20 cal ka BP) and Holocene soil conditions. Average clumped isotope temperatures (T(Δ47)) for last glacial Palouse loess–paleosol carbonates (9±4°C) are significantly lower than those for Holocene-aged carbonates (T(Δ47)=18±2°C) in study sections. Calculated soil water δ18OVSMOWvalues (−16±2‰) for last glacial carbonates are also offset relative to those for Holocene-aged samples (−11±1‰), whereas calculated soil CO2δ13CVPDBvalues are similar for the Holocene (−16.9±0.2‰) and late–last glacial (−16.7±1.1‰) periods. Together, these paleoclimate metrics indicate late–last glacial conditions of pedogenic carbonate formation in the C3grassland soils of the Palouse were measurably colder (9±5°C) than during the Holocene and potentially reflect a more arid last glacial paleoclimate across the Palouse, findings in agreement with previous proxy studies and climate model simulations for the region.

Download Full-text

Feeding habits and microhabitat utilization by two syntopic Brazilian Amazonian frogs (Hyla minuta and Pseudopaludicula sp. (gr. falcipes)

Revista Brasileira de Biologia ◽

10.1590/s0034-71081998000400003 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 559-562 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

M. VAN SLUYS ◽

C. F. D. ROCHA

Keyword(s):

Diet Composition ◽

Niche Breadth ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Microhabitat Use ◽

Feeding Niche ◽

Frog Species

We studied the feeding habits and microhabitat use of the Amazonian frogs Hyla minuta and Pseudopaludicula sp. at Serra Norte, Carajás, Brazil. Although living syntopically, the two species differed markedly in both prey types and sizes. Standardized feeding niche breadth of H. minuta (Bst = 0.572) was larger than that of Pseudopaludicula sp. (Bst = 0.149) and their feeding niche overlap was considerably low (10.5%). The two frog species also differed in microhabitat use. When active, Pseudopaludicula sp. were found partially submerged at the lake border whereas H. minuta were found predominantly on Nymphaea sp. leaves. Although we have not evaluated taxonomic effects on diet composition, differences in diet may be partially explained by differences in microhabitat use and frogs' size.

Download Full-text

Pliocene to Late Pleistocene Magmatism in the Aurora Volcanic Field, Nevada and California, USA: A Petrographic, Geochemical, and Isotopic Study

10.22215/etd/2016-11475 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Susan Kingdon

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

Volcanic Field ◽

Isotopic Study

Download Full-text

Isotopic Tracers Suggest Limited Trans-Oceanic Movements and Regional Residency in North Pacific Blue Sharks (Prionace glauca)

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.653606 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel J. Madigan ◽

Oliver N. Shipley ◽

Aaron B. Carlisle ◽

Heidi Dewar ◽

Owyn E. Snodgrass ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

North Pacific ◽

North Pacific Ocean ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Isotopic Niche ◽

Isotopic Tracers ◽

Blue Shark ◽

Prionace Glauca ◽

The North ◽

The North Pacific

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) are globally distributed, large-bodied pelagic sharks that make extensive migrations throughout their range. In the North Pacific, mark-recapture studies have shown trans-Pacific migrations, but knowledge gaps in migration frequency hinder understanding of regional connectivity and assessments of regional demography for stock assessments. Here, we use oceanographic gradients of stable isotope ratios (i.e., regional isoscapes) to determine exchange rates of blue sharks between the East and West North Pacific Ocean (EPO and WPO). We generated regional δ13C and δ15N distributions for blue sharks from published values in the North Pacific (n = 180; both sexes, juveniles and adults combined). Discriminant analysis suggested low trans-Pacific exchange, categorizing all western (100%) and most eastern (95.3%) blue sharks as resident to their sampling region, with isotopic niche overlap of WPO and EPO highly distinct (0.01–5.6% overlap). Limited trans-Pacific movements suggest that other mechanisms maintain genetic mixing of the North Pacific blue shark population. Potential finer scale movement structure was indicated by isotopic differences in sub-regions of the eastern and western Pacific, though application of mixing models are currently limited by aberrantly low blue shark δ13C values across studies. Our results suggest that blue shark population dynamics may be effectively assessed on a regional basis (i.e., WPO and EPO). We recommend further studies to provide size- and sex-specific movement patterns based on empirical isotopic values with large sample sizes from targeted regions. Strategically applied stable isotope approaches can continue to elucidate migration dynamics of mobile marine predators, complementing traditional approaches to fisheries biology and ecology.

Download Full-text

Consistent differential resource use by sympatric lake (Coregonus clupeaformis) and round (Prosopium cylindraceum) whitefish in Lake Huron: a multi-time scale isotopic niche analysis

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2015-0324 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (7) ◽

pp. 1072-1080 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Eberts ◽

Björn Wissel ◽

Richard G. Manzon ◽

Joanna Y. Wilson ◽

Douglas R. Boreham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resource Use ◽

Niche Partitioning ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Lake Huron ◽

Feeding Strategies ◽

Isotopic Niche ◽

Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽

Spawning Period ◽

Spawning Aggregations

Lake (Coregonus clupeaformis) and round (Prosopium cylindraceum) whitefish are sympatric benthivores in Lake Huron that are thought to coexist via niche partitioning. However, little is known about long-term resource use and niche overlap across different temporal scales. We used a multiyear (2010–2012) and multi-tissue (liver, muscle, and bone layers) isotopic niche analysis to characterize and compare resource use by lake and round whitefish across several time scales. Lake whitefish consistently used more diverse, 13C-depleted (mean δ13C = −21.9‰) and 15N-enriched (mean δ15N = +9.3‰) resources than round whitefish (mean δ13C = −18.2‰; mean δ15N = +8.3‰). Niche overlap occurred only in liver, representing the spawning period, while niche segregation was highest in juvenile life stages. Individuals of both species made variable resource shifts among time periods, suggesting that spawning aggregations are composed of individuals representing a variety of feeding strategies and locations. Our study confirms that differential resource use is an important strategy for these fish as adults and demonstrates life-long niche partitioning beginning before age-2.

Download Full-text