Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans
RATIONALE In stable isotope research, the use of accurate, species‐specific diet‐tissue discrimination factors (i.e., Δ13C and Δ15N) is central to the estimation of trophic position relative to primary consumers and to the identification of the dietary sources of an individual. Previous research sug...
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ftubarcepubl:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/163054 2024-02-11T10:03:48+01:00 Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans Borrell Thió, Assumpció Abad Oliva, N. Gómez-Campos, E. Giménez, J. Aguilar, Àlex 2012-06-10 8 p. application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2445/163054 eng eng Wiley Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2012, vol. 68, num. 3, p. 547-554 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 0951-4198 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/163054 618605 (c) Wiley, 2012 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Isòtops Cetacis Isotopes Cetacea info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion 2012 ftubarcepubl https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 2024-01-24T01:12:02Z RATIONALE In stable isotope research, the use of accurate, species‐specific diet‐tissue discrimination factors (i.e., Δ13C and Δ15N) is central to the estimation of trophic position relative to primary consumers and to the identification of the dietary sources of an individual. Previous research suggested that the diet of fin whales from the waters off northwestern Spain is overwhelmingly based on krill, thus permitting reliable calculation of discrimination values in this wild population. METHODS After confirming that the stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N values) in muscle from 65 aged fin whales remained constant through age classes (4-65 years), the signatures were determined in muscle, bone protein, skin, liver, kidney, baleen plates and brain, as well as food (krill), from a subset of individuals to calculate discrimination factors. Signatures were determined by means of elemental analysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA‐IRMS) using a ThermoFinnigan Flash 1112. RESULTS The isotopic values remained constant regardless of age. The mean Δ15N values between krill and whale tissues ranged from 2.04 in bone protein to 4.27¿ in brain, and those of Δ13C ranged from 1.28 in skin to 3.11¿ in bone protein. This variation was consistent with that found in other groups of mammals, and is attributed to variation in tissue composition and physiology. CONCLUSIONS Because discrimination factors are relatively constant between taxonomically close species, the results here obtained may be reliably extrapolated to other cetaceans to improve dietary reconstructions. The skin discrimination factors are of particular relevance to monitoring diet through biopsies or other non‐destructive sampling methods. The large difference in bone protein discrimination factors from those of other tissues should be taken into consideration when bone collagen is used to determine trophic level or to assess diet in paleodietary isotopic reconstructions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fin whale Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 26 14 1596 1602 |
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Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona |
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English |
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Isòtops Cetacis Isotopes Cetacea |
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Isòtops Cetacis Isotopes Cetacea Borrell Thió, Assumpció Abad Oliva, N. Gómez-Campos, E. Giménez, J. Aguilar, Àlex Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
topic_facet |
Isòtops Cetacis Isotopes Cetacea |
description |
RATIONALE In stable isotope research, the use of accurate, species‐specific diet‐tissue discrimination factors (i.e., Δ13C and Δ15N) is central to the estimation of trophic position relative to primary consumers and to the identification of the dietary sources of an individual. Previous research suggested that the diet of fin whales from the waters off northwestern Spain is overwhelmingly based on krill, thus permitting reliable calculation of discrimination values in this wild population. METHODS After confirming that the stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N values) in muscle from 65 aged fin whales remained constant through age classes (4-65 years), the signatures were determined in muscle, bone protein, skin, liver, kidney, baleen plates and brain, as well as food (krill), from a subset of individuals to calculate discrimination factors. Signatures were determined by means of elemental analysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA‐IRMS) using a ThermoFinnigan Flash 1112. RESULTS The isotopic values remained constant regardless of age. The mean Δ15N values between krill and whale tissues ranged from 2.04 in bone protein to 4.27¿ in brain, and those of Δ13C ranged from 1.28 in skin to 3.11¿ in bone protein. This variation was consistent with that found in other groups of mammals, and is attributed to variation in tissue composition and physiology. CONCLUSIONS Because discrimination factors are relatively constant between taxonomically close species, the results here obtained may be reliably extrapolated to other cetaceans to improve dietary reconstructions. The skin discrimination factors are of particular relevance to monitoring diet through biopsies or other non‐destructive sampling methods. The large difference in bone protein discrimination factors from those of other tissues should be taken into consideration when bone collagen is used to determine trophic level or to assess diet in paleodietary isotopic reconstructions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Borrell Thió, Assumpció Abad Oliva, N. Gómez-Campos, E. Giménez, J. Aguilar, Àlex |
author_facet |
Borrell Thió, Assumpció Abad Oliva, N. Gómez-Campos, E. Giménez, J. Aguilar, Àlex |
author_sort |
Borrell Thió, Assumpció |
title |
Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
title_short |
Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
title_full |
Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
title_fullStr |
Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
title_full_unstemmed |
Discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
title_sort |
discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2445/163054 |
genre |
Fin whale |
genre_facet |
Fin whale |
op_relation |
Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2012, vol. 68, num. 3, p. 547-554 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 0951-4198 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/163054 618605 |
op_rights |
(c) Wiley, 2012 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6267 |
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