Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes
Tissue-specific stable isotope signatures can provide insights into the trophic ecology of consumers and their roles in food webs. Two parameters are central for making valid inferences based on stable isotopes, isotopic discrimination (difference in isotopic ratio between consumer and its diet) and...
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/4032 2023-05-15T14:31:14+02:00 Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes Lecomte, Nicolas Ahlstrøm, Øystein Jan Ehrich, Dorothee Fuglei, Eva Ims, Rolf Anker Yoccoz, Nigel 2011 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/4032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 eng eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) PLoS ONE (2011) 6(6): e21357 FRIDAID 837205 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 1932-6203 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/4032 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_3753 openAccess VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed 2011 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 2021-06-25T17:53:15Z Tissue-specific stable isotope signatures can provide insights into the trophic ecology of consumers and their roles in food webs. Two parameters are central for making valid inferences based on stable isotopes, isotopic discrimination (difference in isotopic ratio between consumer and its diet) and turnover time (renewal process of molecules in a given tissue usually measured when half of the tissue composition has changed). We investigated simultaneously the effects of age, sex, and diet types on the variation of discrimination and half-life in nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C, respectively) in five tissues (blood cells, plasma, muscle, liver, nail, and hair) of a top predator, the arctic fox Vulpes lagopus. We fed 40 farmed foxes (equal numbers of adults and yearlings of both sexes) with diet capturing the range of resources used by their wild counterparts. We found that, for a single species, six tissues, and three diet types, the range of discrimination values can be almost as large as what is known at the scale of the whole mammalian or avian class. Discrimination varied depending on sex, age, tissue, and diet types, ranging from 0.3‰ to 5.3‰ (mean = 2.6‰) for δ15N and from 0.2‰ to 2.9‰ (mean = 0.9‰) for δ13C. We also found an impact of population structure on δ15N half-life in blood cells. Varying across individuals, δ15N half-life in plasma (6 to 10 days) was also shorter than for δ13C (14 to 22 days), though δ15N and δ13C half-lives are usually considered as equal. Overall, our multi-factorial experiment revealed that at least six levels of isotopic variations could co-occur in the same population. Our experimental analysis provides a framework for quantifying multiple sources of variation in isotopic discrimination and half-life that needs to be taken into account when designing and analysing ecological field studies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Fox Arctic Vulpes lagopus University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic PLoS ONE 6 6 e21357 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 Lecomte, Nicolas Ahlstrøm, Øystein Jan Ehrich, Dorothee Fuglei, Eva Ims, Rolf Anker Yoccoz, Nigel Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 |
description |
Tissue-specific stable isotope signatures can provide insights into the trophic ecology of consumers and their roles in food webs. Two parameters are central for making valid inferences based on stable isotopes, isotopic discrimination (difference in isotopic ratio between consumer and its diet) and turnover time (renewal process of molecules in a given tissue usually measured when half of the tissue composition has changed). We investigated simultaneously the effects of age, sex, and diet types on the variation of discrimination and half-life in nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C, respectively) in five tissues (blood cells, plasma, muscle, liver, nail, and hair) of a top predator, the arctic fox Vulpes lagopus. We fed 40 farmed foxes (equal numbers of adults and yearlings of both sexes) with diet capturing the range of resources used by their wild counterparts. We found that, for a single species, six tissues, and three diet types, the range of discrimination values can be almost as large as what is known at the scale of the whole mammalian or avian class. Discrimination varied depending on sex, age, tissue, and diet types, ranging from 0.3‰ to 5.3‰ (mean = 2.6‰) for δ15N and from 0.2‰ to 2.9‰ (mean = 0.9‰) for δ13C. We also found an impact of population structure on δ15N half-life in blood cells. Varying across individuals, δ15N half-life in plasma (6 to 10 days) was also shorter than for δ13C (14 to 22 days), though δ15N and δ13C half-lives are usually considered as equal. Overall, our multi-factorial experiment revealed that at least six levels of isotopic variations could co-occur in the same population. Our experimental analysis provides a framework for quantifying multiple sources of variation in isotopic discrimination and half-life that needs to be taken into account when designing and analysing ecological field studies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lecomte, Nicolas Ahlstrøm, Øystein Jan Ehrich, Dorothee Fuglei, Eva Ims, Rolf Anker Yoccoz, Nigel |
author_facet |
Lecomte, Nicolas Ahlstrøm, Øystein Jan Ehrich, Dorothee Fuglei, Eva Ims, Rolf Anker Yoccoz, Nigel |
author_sort |
Lecomte, Nicolas |
title |
Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
title_short |
Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
title_full |
Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
title_fullStr |
Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in Arctic Foxes |
title_sort |
intrapopulation variability shaping isotope discrimination and turnover : experimental evidence in arctic foxes |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/4032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Vulpes lagopus |
op_relation |
PLoS ONE (2011) 6(6): e21357 FRIDAID 837205 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 1932-6203 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/4032 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_3753 |
op_rights |
openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021357 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
e21357 |
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1766304905828499456 |