Organochlorine transfer in the food web of subalpine Bow Lake, Banff National Park

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1258-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda M Campbell ◽  
David W Schindler ◽  
Derek CG Muir ◽  
David B Donald ◽  
Karen A Kidd
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
National Park ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Pelagic Copepod ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Highly Correlated

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from subalpine Bow Lake, near the Continental Divide in Banff National Park, have been reported to have higher concentrations of toxaphene than other lake trout populations of the Rocky Mountains. Our original hypothesis was that unusually high biomagnification via a long food chain was responsible for elevated levels of toxaphene and other persistent organochlorines in the lake trout. This hypothesis was refuted by the analyses of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in lake biota. Stable nitrogen isotope analyses demonstrated that the food chain length in Bow Lake was short. The sources of carbon (pelagic or benthic), as indicated by stable carbon isotope values, were highly correlated with organochlorine concentrations in the food web. Lake trout with more pelagic carbon signatures had higher organochlorine concentrations than littoral-feeding mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) and lake trout. The pelagic copepod Hesperodiaptomus arcticus had higher organochlorine concentrations (wet weight basis) than any other organism, including the fish. This was attributed to the high lipid content of copepods and possibly their ingestion of suspended solids, including glacial silt or direct absorption from solution in glacial inflows.

Isotopic Evidence for Diet in the Seventeenth-Century Colonial Chesapeake

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Ubelaker ◽  
Douglas W. Owsley
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
American Colonies

Excavations of colonial period sites in Maryland and Virginia have produced human remains dating to the seventeenth century. In this study, we analyze stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from these remains to explore aspects of the diets of the individuals represented. Analyses of both stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were conducted on preserved protein while stable carbon isotope analysis was also conducted on preserved biological apatite. Carbon isotope values (δ13N‰) ranged from -10.5 to -20.5 for collagen and -5.1 to -12.5 for bioapatite. Nitrogen isotope values (δ15N‰) ranged from 9.9 to 14.4. The data suggest dietary diversity among the individuals examined. Three factors contribute to this diversity: the availability of maize, variation in immigration histories of the individuals, and the differing lengths of time they spent in the American colonies.

scholarly journals Benthic primary producers are key to sustain the Wadden Sea food web: stable carbon isotope analysis at landscape scale

Ecology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1498-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. A. Christianen ◽  
J. J. Middelburg ◽  
S. J. Holthuijsen ◽  
J. Jouta ◽  
T. J. Compton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Primary Producers ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis ◽  
Carbon Isotope Analysis

Assessment of indigeneity in fossil organic matter: amino acids and stable isotopes

1991 ◽  
Vol 333 (1268) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Residual Organic Matter

Whereas the presence of amino acids in fossil materials is clearly related to biosynthesis, an indigenous relationship with the fossil may be suspect. At present, attempts to establish the indigeneity of amino acids in fossils are based on distribution and stereochemistry. However, fossil systems are not closed and racemization may be retarded in organic materials within a fossil matrix. The advent of new technologies has resulted in alternative methods for evaluating the authenticity of fossil organic matter. A comparison of the stable carbon isotope compositions of the D- and L-enantiomers of individual amino acids facilitates the evaluation of indigeneity. Here we report the application of this method for determining the origin(s) of amino acids in fossils and extraterrestrial samples. Further, nitrogen isotope compositions of fossil materials should reflect trophic order, with increasing enrichment in 515N with progression up the food chain. Establishment of the trophic position of a fossil would further reinforce the appraisal of indigeneity based on the isotopic composition of its residual organic matter. Results of initial studies on Cretaceous age vertebrates which are consistent with the suggested feeding morphologies of these organisms are also presented.

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