Stable carbon isotope analysis of faecal and blood samples of sheep in relation to the diet

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 ◽  
pp. 159-159
Author(s):  
A. Balcaen ◽  
E. Claeys ◽  
V. Fievez ◽  
P. Boeckx ◽  
O. van Cleemput ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Carbon Fixation ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Calvin Cycle ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Stable Carbon

Stable isotopes have been extraordinarily helpful in understanding animal migration, diet, food webs and nutrient flow (Hilderbrand et al., 1996), based on the property that C3 and C4 plants possess distinctly different 13C/12C ratios (δ13C value) due to isotopic fractionation during photosynthetic carbon fixation (Smith & Epstein, 1971). Most woody species and temperate graminoids assimilate carbon via the Calvin cycle (C3), which discriminates stronger against the heavier isotope (13C) than Hatch-Slack (C4) species (tropical and subtropical graminoids and some shrubs). C3 and C4 plant species have mean δ13C values of -27 ‰ and -13 ‰ respectively (O’Leary, 1981). DeNiro & Epstein (1978) were one of the first to show that the isotopic composition of the whole animal body is similar to that of its diet. Other authors have also found relationships between the isotopic composition of animal tissues and the diet (González-Martin et al., 1999; Jones et al., 1979). The aim of this study was to investigate stable carbon isotope composition in sheep fed diets consisting of either C3 or C3+C4 plants.

Stable isotope composition of walleye: 15N accumulation with age and area-specific differences in δ13C

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1253-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathanael C Overman ◽  
Donna L Parrish
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Metabolic Effects ◽  
N Accumulation

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios were measured for walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) collected across Lake Champlain, Vermont, to determine relationships between isotopic composition and diet, location of capture, length, weight, and age. Variation in δ13C values reflected area-specific differences in isotopic composition of organisms collected across the lake. A critical assumption in the application of isotope techniques is that a predictable relationship exists between the diet and isotopic composition of an organism. Our results indicate that isotopic fractionation factors may not be independent of age as has largely been assumed. By combining stable nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis with conventional stomach content analysis, we documented significant age effects in the δ15N composition of adult walleye that were not attributable to observed changes in diet. Age accounted for 81% of the variation in δ15N values of walleye (ages 2–27, N = 65, δ15N range = 15.3–19.2‰), providing evidence supporting 15N accumulation over the life span of walleye. Therefore, the risk of making faulty inferences of trophic position and food web interactions based on δ15N values may be increased when age is unknown. Our results indicate that metabolic effects associated with age require greater consideration in applications of stable isotope analysis.

scholarly journals Extreme <sup>13</sup>C depletion of CCl<sub>2</sub>F<sub>2</sub> in firn air samples from NEEM, Greenland

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 18499-18530
Author(s):  
A. Zuiderweg ◽  
R. Holzinger ◽  
P. Martinerie ◽  
R. Schneider ◽  
J. Kaiser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Large Change ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Mixing Ratio ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Air Samples

Abstract. A series of 12 high volume air samples collected from the S2 firn core during the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) 2009 campaign have been measured for mixing ratio and stable carbon isotope composition of the chlorofluorocarbon CFC-12 (CCl2F2). While the mixing ratio measurements compare favorably to other firn air studies, the isotope results show extreme 13C depletion at the deepest measurable depth (65 m), to values lower than δ13C = −80‰ vs. VPDB (the international stable carbon isotope scale), compared to present day surface tropospheric measurements near −40‰. Firn air modeling was used to interpret these measurements. Reconstructed atmospheric time series indicate even larger depletions (to −120‰) near 1950 AD, with subsequent rapid enrichment of the atmospheric reservoir of the compound to the present day value. Mass-balance calculations show that this change must have been caused by a large change in the isotopic composition of anthropogenic CFC-12 emissions, probably due to technological changes in the CFC production process over the last 80 yr. Propagating the mass-balance calculations into the future demonstrates that as emissions decrease to zero, isotopic fractionation by the stratospheric sinks will lead to continued 13C enrichment in atmospheric CFC-12.

Factors affecting 13C/12C ratios of inland halophytes. I. Controlled studies on growth and isotopic composition of Puccinellia nuttalliana

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (11) ◽  
pp. 2693-2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Guy ◽  
David M. Reid ◽  
H. Roy Krouse
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Carbon Isotope Composition ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
High Level ◽  
Puccinellia Nuttalliana

Studies on various factors affecting the growth and stable carbon isotope composition of the graminaceous C3 halophyte Puccinellia nuttalliana (Schultes) Hitch. were initiated as a step towards interpreting δ13C variations in nature. For isotope analysis, combustion at 900 °C resulted in higher CO2 yield than at 550 °C but did not affect δ13C values. Differences in δ13C between leaves of different insertion level were unimportant, but roots were about 1‰ more positive than shoots. Trends in δ13C with salinity were the same in all plant parts. Depressions of growth by NaCl or Na2SO4 were similar, but plants grown in Na2SO4 displayed a greater shift in δ13C relative to controls. Growth rates were affected more by salinity than were previously reported photosynthetic rates. At typical salinities, δ13C changed linearly with salinity. The supply of nitrate to stressed and unstressed plants had no important influence on δ13C. Growth in polyethylene glycol produced δ13C values consistent with a high level of stress. After a salinity step-up, changes in δ13C were complete within 10 days. During winter, data were found to be heavily influenced by unintentional, human-respired CO2 enrichment. This represents a potentially serious research problem in laboratories of temperate climes.

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