Changes in stable isotope compositions during fasting in phocid seals

Habran, Sarah; Pomeroy, Patrick P.; Debier, Cathy; Crocker, Daniel E.; Lepoint, Gilles; Das, Krishna

doi:10.1002/rcm.8308

Cited by 5 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…The two sampled bowhead calves were found with remains of fetal skin, appearing as patches along the body, while the main skin under the patches was new. Generally, isotopic fractionation is expected between mother-to-fetus/calf nutrients transfer, which is species-specific, tissue-specific and can be influenced by factors as breeding strategy and nutritional conditions [ 6 , 25 , 31 ]. Pregnant and lactating females can be “income breeders”, “capital breeders” or a mix between the two.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In southern elephant seals whiskers [ 24 ], the isotopic composition of mothers and fetuses did not appear to be in steady state during gestation, however, both δ 13 C and δ 15 N values were reported to increase in fetuses and decrease in mothers with time during pregnancy. In grey seals, fetus red blood cells and serum δ 13 C values were lower than those of their mothers (of ~0.1‰ and 0.8‰, respectively), whereas fetus δ 15 N values were higher (of 2.4‰ and 1.3%, respectively) [ 25 ]. When lactation begins, isotope profiles are expected to change from those recorded in tissues during gestation [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Habran et al [ 21 ] found significantly higher δ 13 C values in serum of lactating female northern elephant seals sampled 5 days after parturition (assumed to reflect gestation) compared to 22 days after birth (assumed to represent lactation), but no significant differences were reported for δ 15 N values. On the other hand, in lactating grey seal serum, δ 13 C appeared to decrease and δ 15 N values to increase significantly between beginning and end of lactation (about 15 days apart) [ 25 ]. In baleen whale calves, decreases in both δ 13 C and δ 15 N values were found from fetal to calf epidermis in two bowhead whale specimens, although after weaning δ 15 N values of calf epidermis increased [ 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, in lactating grey seal serum, δ 13 C appeared to decrease and δ 15 N values to increase significantly between beginning and end of lactation (about 15 days apart) [ 25 ]. In baleen whale calves, decreases in both δ 13 C and δ 15 N values were found from fetal to calf epidermis in two bowhead whale specimens, although after weaning δ 15 N values of calf epidermis increased [ 25 ]. In the offspring of pinnipeds, northern elephant seal red blood cell δ 15 N values were reported to increase significantly between day 5 and 22 after birth, while serum δ 15 N values appeared to follow an opposite decreasing trend for the same time frame [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies focused on elephant and grey seals that capital breed while lactating [ 21 , 25 , 28 ]. Whole blood, red blood cells and serum δ 13 C and δ 15 N values were reported to be generally higher in pups than in mothers at the final stage of lactation [ 21 , 25 ] and at weaning [ 28 ] of both species. On the other hand, grey seal pups serum δ 13 C values and hair δ 13 C and δ 15 N values were found to be significantly lower than those of their respective mothers’ tissues [ 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracing gestation and lactation in free ranging gray whales using the stable isotopic composition of epidermis layers

Gelippi¹,

Popp²,

Gauger³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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The isotopic composition of baleen whales’ epidermis structural layers can give information about dietary change over time. This study investigated if epidermis layers integrated isotopic values that record physiological changes from gestation to lactation. Epidermis tissues (n = 43) were collected from free ranging lactating female gray whale and calves during the beginning of three breeding seasons. Modelling of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values show intra- and inter-individual differences based on epidermal layers, age class and year of sampling. The isotopic composition of mother-calf pairs is correlated, and the estimates of the maximum mother-to-calf isotopic difference was ~1.4‰ for δ 13 C and between 1 and 1.5‰ for δ 15 N values. Change in δ 15 N values among epidermal layers in calves was associated with the transition from fetus to consumption of maternal milk. It is here proposed when lactation influences calf epidermis, δ 15 N values decrease consistently from the outermost to the innermost layer. However, if a calf was born only few days before collection, epidermis integrates more variable δ 15 N patterns because gestation still affects the isotopic composition of the layers. The possibility of calculating mother-to-calf nitrogen isotope fractionation, and the regularity of changes between calf layer δ 15 N values, allowed results of an isotopic clock model to predict the age of each calf when sampled with its mother. This model has the potential to be a straightforward method to estimate the beginning of lactation, therefore calf birth date when direct observations are not feasible. The non-lethal remote collection of epidermis appears to be an effective tool for the study of the physiology of reproduction of baleen whales. The parallel study of the three epidermal structural layers highlighted the importance of considering the unique mother-calf pair physiological status at the time of sampling time when stable isotope results are interpreted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracing gestation and lactation in free ranging gray whales using the stable isotopic composition of epidermis layers

Gelippi¹,

Popp²,

Gauger³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Habitat and resource segregation of two sympatric seals in the North Sea

Siebert

Pomeroy

Lepoint

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Can the carbon and nitrogen isotope values of offspring be used as a proxy for their mother’s diet? Using foetal physiology to interpret bulk tissue and amino acid δ15N values

Lübcker

Whiteman

Newsome

et al. 2020

Conservation Physiology

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The measurement of bulk tissue nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon isotope values (δ13C) chronologically along biologically inert tissues sampled from offspring can provide a longitudinal record of their mothers’ foraging habits. This study tested the important assumption that mother–offspring stable isotope values are positively and linearly correlated. In addition, any change in the mother–offspring bulk tissues and individual amino acids that occurred during gestation was investigated. Whiskers sampled from southern elephant seal pups (Mirounga leonina) and temporally overlapping whiskers from their mothers were analyzed. This included n = 1895 chronologically subsampled whisker segments for bulk tissue δ15N and δ13C in total and n = 20 whisker segments for amino acid δ15N values, sampled from recently weaned pups (n = 17), juvenile southern elephant seals (SES) < 2 years old (n = 23) and adult female SES (n = 17), which included nine mother–offspring pairs. In contrast to previous studies, the mother–offspring pairs were not in isotopic equilibrium or linearly correlated during gestation: the Δ15N and Δ13C mother–offspring offsets increased by 0.8 and 1.2‰, respectively, during gestation. The foetal bulk δ15N values were 1.7 ± 0.5‰ (0.9–2.7‰) higher than mothers’ δ15N values before birth, while the foetal δ13C increased by ~1.7‰ during gestation and were 1.0 ± 0.5‰ (0.0–1.9‰) higher than their mothers’ δ13C at the end of pregnancy. The mother–offspring serine and glycine Δ15N differed by ~4.3‰, while the foetal alanine δ15N values were 1.4‰ lower than that of their mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy. The observed mother–offspring δ15N differences are likely explained by shuttling of glutamate–glutamine and glycine–serine amongst skeletal muscle, liver, placenta and foetal tissue. Foetal development relies primarily on remobilized endogenous maternal proteinaceous sources. Researchers should consider foetal physiology when using offspring bulk tissue isotope values as biomarkers for the mother’s isotopic composition as part of monitoring programmes.

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Changes in stable isotope compositions during fasting in phocid seals

Cited by 5 publications

References 50 publications

Tracing gestation and lactation in free ranging gray whales using the stable isotopic composition of epidermis layers

Tracing gestation and lactation in free ranging gray whales using the stable isotopic composition of epidermis layers

Habitat and resource segregation of two sympatric seals in the North Sea

Can the carbon and nitrogen isotope values of offspring be used as a proxy for their mother’s diet? Using foetal physiology to interpret bulk tissue and amino acid δ15N values

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