Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current.
Climatic variation alters biochemical and ecological processes, but it is difficult both to quantify the magnitude of such changes, and to differentiate long-term shifts from inter-annual variability. Here, we simultaneously quantify decade-scale isotopic variability at the lowest and highest trophi...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9103e125da7c4f22bf5d5df4a2e5dfb2 2023-05-15T17:59:27+02:00 Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. Rocio I Ruiz-Cooley Paul L Koch Paul C Fiedler Matthew D McCarthy 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 https://doaj.org/article/9103e125da7c4f22bf5d5df4a2e5dfb2 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4201512?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 https://doaj.org/article/9103e125da7c4f22bf5d5df4a2e5dfb2 PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 10, p e110355 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 2022-12-31T11:39:38Z Climatic variation alters biochemical and ecological processes, but it is difficult both to quantify the magnitude of such changes, and to differentiate long-term shifts from inter-annual variability. Here, we simultaneously quantify decade-scale isotopic variability at the lowest and highest trophic positions in the offshore California Current System (CCS) by measuring δ15N and δ13C values of amino acids in a top predator, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Using a time series of skin tissue samples as a biological archive, isotopic records from individual amino acids (AAs) can reveal the proximate factors driving a temporal decline we observed in bulk isotope values (a decline of ≥1 ‰) by decoupling changes in primary producer isotope values from those linked to the trophic position of this toothed whale. A continuous decline in baseline (i.e., primary producer) δ15N and δ13C values was observed from 1993 to 2005 (a decrease of ∼4‰ for δ15N source-AAs and 3‰ for δ13C essential-AAs), while the trophic position of whales was variable over time and it did not exhibit directional trends. The baseline δ15N and δ13C shifts suggest rapid ongoing changes in the carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycling in the offshore CCS, potentially occurring at faster rates than long-term shifts observed elsewhere in the Pacific. While the mechanisms forcing these biogeochemical shifts remain to be determined, our data suggest possible links to natural climate variability, and also corresponding shifts in surface nutrient availability. Our study demonstrates that isotopic analysis of individual amino acids from a top marine mammal predator can be a powerful new approach to reconstructing temporal variation in both biochemical cycling and trophic structure. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific PLoS ONE 9 10 e110355 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Rocio I Ruiz-Cooley Paul L Koch Paul C Fiedler Matthew D McCarthy Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Climatic variation alters biochemical and ecological processes, but it is difficult both to quantify the magnitude of such changes, and to differentiate long-term shifts from inter-annual variability. Here, we simultaneously quantify decade-scale isotopic variability at the lowest and highest trophic positions in the offshore California Current System (CCS) by measuring δ15N and δ13C values of amino acids in a top predator, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Using a time series of skin tissue samples as a biological archive, isotopic records from individual amino acids (AAs) can reveal the proximate factors driving a temporal decline we observed in bulk isotope values (a decline of ≥1 ‰) by decoupling changes in primary producer isotope values from those linked to the trophic position of this toothed whale. A continuous decline in baseline (i.e., primary producer) δ15N and δ13C values was observed from 1993 to 2005 (a decrease of ∼4‰ for δ15N source-AAs and 3‰ for δ13C essential-AAs), while the trophic position of whales was variable over time and it did not exhibit directional trends. The baseline δ15N and δ13C shifts suggest rapid ongoing changes in the carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycling in the offshore CCS, potentially occurring at faster rates than long-term shifts observed elsewhere in the Pacific. While the mechanisms forcing these biogeochemical shifts remain to be determined, our data suggest possible links to natural climate variability, and also corresponding shifts in surface nutrient availability. Our study demonstrates that isotopic analysis of individual amino acids from a top marine mammal predator can be a powerful new approach to reconstructing temporal variation in both biochemical cycling and trophic structure. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rocio I Ruiz-Cooley Paul L Koch Paul C Fiedler Matthew D McCarthy |
author_facet |
Rocio I Ruiz-Cooley Paul L Koch Paul C Fiedler Matthew D McCarthy |
author_sort |
Rocio I Ruiz-Cooley |
title |
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
title_short |
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
title_full |
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
title_fullStr |
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer California Current. |
title_sort |
carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer california current. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 https://doaj.org/article/9103e125da7c4f22bf5d5df4a2e5dfb2 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whale |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 10, p e110355 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4201512?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 https://doaj.org/article/9103e125da7c4f22bf5d5df4a2e5dfb2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110355 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
9 |
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10 |
container_start_page |
e110355 |
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