Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs
Abstract Tracing the flow of dietary energy sources, especially in systems with a high degree of omnivory, is an ongoing challenge in ecology. In aquatic systems, one of the persistent challenges is in differentiating between autochthonous and allochthonous energy sources to top consumers. Bulk carb...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7f40b6b1376c4562aded43fa6292317b 2023-05-15T14:59:22+02:00 Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs Ariana M. Chiapella Martin J. Kainz Angela L. Strecker 2021-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/article/7f40b6b1376c4562aded43fa6292317b EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/article/7f40b6b1376c4562aded43fa6292317b Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 2, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) allochthonous subsidies Arctic Char compound‐specific stable isotopes diet tracing energy flow fatty acids Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 2022-12-31T09:26:39Z Abstract Tracing the flow of dietary energy sources, especially in systems with a high degree of omnivory, is an ongoing challenge in ecology. In aquatic systems, one of the persistent challenges is in differentiating between autochthonous and allochthonous energy sources to top consumers. Bulk carbon stable isotope values of aquatic and terrestrial prey often overlap, making it difficult to delineate dietary energy pathways in food webs with high allochthonous prey subsidies, such as in many northern temperate waterbodies. We conducted a feeding experiment to explore how fatty acid stable isotopes may overcome the challenge of partitioning autochthonous and allochthonous energy pathways in aquatic consumers. We fed hatchery‐reared Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) diets of either benthic invertebrates, terrestrial earthworms, or a mixture of both. We then compared how the stable carbon isotopes of fatty acids (δ13CFA) distinguished between diet items and respective treatments in S. alpinus liver and muscle tissues, relative to bulk stable isotopes and fatty acid profiles. Although a high degree of variability of fatty acid stable carbon isotope values was present in all three measures, our results suggest that the ability of this method to overcome the challenges of bulk stable isotopes may be overstated. Finally, our study highlights the importance of further experimental investigation, and consideration of physiological and biochemical processes when employing this emerging method. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Salvelinus alpinus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ecosphere 12 2 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
allochthonous subsidies Arctic Char compound‐specific stable isotopes diet tracing energy flow fatty acids Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
allochthonous subsidies Arctic Char compound‐specific stable isotopes diet tracing energy flow fatty acids Ecology QH540-549.5 Ariana M. Chiapella Martin J. Kainz Angela L. Strecker Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
topic_facet |
allochthonous subsidies Arctic Char compound‐specific stable isotopes diet tracing energy flow fatty acids Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Tracing the flow of dietary energy sources, especially in systems with a high degree of omnivory, is an ongoing challenge in ecology. In aquatic systems, one of the persistent challenges is in differentiating between autochthonous and allochthonous energy sources to top consumers. Bulk carbon stable isotope values of aquatic and terrestrial prey often overlap, making it difficult to delineate dietary energy pathways in food webs with high allochthonous prey subsidies, such as in many northern temperate waterbodies. We conducted a feeding experiment to explore how fatty acid stable isotopes may overcome the challenge of partitioning autochthonous and allochthonous energy pathways in aquatic consumers. We fed hatchery‐reared Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) diets of either benthic invertebrates, terrestrial earthworms, or a mixture of both. We then compared how the stable carbon isotopes of fatty acids (δ13CFA) distinguished between diet items and respective treatments in S. alpinus liver and muscle tissues, relative to bulk stable isotopes and fatty acid profiles. Although a high degree of variability of fatty acid stable carbon isotope values was present in all three measures, our results suggest that the ability of this method to overcome the challenges of bulk stable isotopes may be overstated. Finally, our study highlights the importance of further experimental investigation, and consideration of physiological and biochemical processes when employing this emerging method. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ariana M. Chiapella Martin J. Kainz Angela L. Strecker |
author_facet |
Ariana M. Chiapella Martin J. Kainz Angela L. Strecker |
author_sort |
Ariana M. Chiapella |
title |
Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
title_short |
Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
title_full |
Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
title_fullStr |
Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
title_sort |
fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/article/7f40b6b1376c4562aded43fa6292317b |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 2, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3360 https://doaj.org/article/7f40b6b1376c4562aded43fa6292317b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3360 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1766331482138214400 |