Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis.
Blubber and skin are commonly used tissues in stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating cetacean diet. Critical comparison of tissue-specific isotopic signals is, however, lacking resulting in uncertainty surrounding the representativeness and therefore utility of different tissues fo...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/article/dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 2023-06-11T04:12:30+02:00 Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. June Eggebo Jasmin Groß Susan Bengtson Nash 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/article/dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/article/dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 PLoS ONE, Vol 18, Iss 4, p e0283330 (2023) Medicine R Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 2023-04-23T00:32:15Z Blubber and skin are commonly used tissues in stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating cetacean diet. Critical comparison of tissue-specific isotopic signals is, however, lacking resulting in uncertainty surrounding the representativeness and therefore utility of different tissues for accurate determination of recent foraging. This study used remotely biopsied blubber and skin tissues from southern hemisphere humpback whales for strategic comparison of δ13C and δ15N values. Samples were collected between 2008-2018 as part of long-term monitoring under the Humpback Whale Sentinel Program. Blubber tissues were lipid-extracted prior to analysis, whilst mathematical lipid-correction was performed on skin samples. Isotopic values from paired blubber and skin samples from the same individuals were compared to assess whether tissues could be used interchangeably for isotope analysis and dietary interpretation. Significant differences were observed for both δ13C and δ15N, flagging previously undocumented methodological considerations, and the need for method validation and standardisation in application of these approaches. This study therefore advances methodological aspects of cetacean dietary analysis. This is of elevated importance in the context of rapidly changing ocean ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 18 4 e0283330 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q June Eggebo Jasmin Groß Susan Bengtson Nash Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Blubber and skin are commonly used tissues in stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating cetacean diet. Critical comparison of tissue-specific isotopic signals is, however, lacking resulting in uncertainty surrounding the representativeness and therefore utility of different tissues for accurate determination of recent foraging. This study used remotely biopsied blubber and skin tissues from southern hemisphere humpback whales for strategic comparison of δ13C and δ15N values. Samples were collected between 2008-2018 as part of long-term monitoring under the Humpback Whale Sentinel Program. Blubber tissues were lipid-extracted prior to analysis, whilst mathematical lipid-correction was performed on skin samples. Isotopic values from paired blubber and skin samples from the same individuals were compared to assess whether tissues could be used interchangeably for isotope analysis and dietary interpretation. Significant differences were observed for both δ13C and δ15N, flagging previously undocumented methodological considerations, and the need for method validation and standardisation in application of these approaches. This study therefore advances methodological aspects of cetacean dietary analysis. This is of elevated importance in the context of rapidly changing ocean ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
June Eggebo Jasmin Groß Susan Bengtson Nash |
author_facet |
June Eggebo Jasmin Groß Susan Bengtson Nash |
author_sort |
June Eggebo |
title |
Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
title_short |
Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
title_full |
Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
title_fullStr |
Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
title_sort |
interpretation of southern hemisphere humpback whale diet via stable isotopes; implications of tissue-specific analysis. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/article/dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 |
genre |
Humpback Whale |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 18, Iss 4, p e0283330 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 https://doaj.org/article/dcbf5b0d699e4e90afa6b96bf9f178b0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283330 |
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PLOS ONE |
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18 |
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e0283330 |
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