Differences in natural carbon isotope ratios of milk and hair from cattle grazing tropical and temperate pastures

Minson, D. J.; Ludlow, M. M.; Troughton, John H.

doi:10.1038/256602a0

Cited by 134 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Yet, the present data indicated no preferential grazing of one photosynthetic type (C3 relative to C4, or vice versa). This was suggested by the fact that the observed vegetation-wool shift (+2.7‰) was similar to that of pure C3 or C4 diets (average shift: +2.6‰ ±0.6‰ SD for hairs of different animal species in the studies of Minson et al, 1975;Jones et al, 1981;Sponheimer et al, 2003a;Ayliffe et al, 2004;Schwertl et al, 2005). If animals had grazed preferentially one component of vegetation, then the apparent shift should deviate.…”

Section: Isotopic Shift Between Vegetation and Woolmentioning

confidence: 96%

Large regional-scale variation in C3/C4 distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia steppe is revealed by grazer wool carbon isotope composition

Auerswald¹,

Wittmer²,

Männel³

et al. 2009

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. This work explored the spatial variation of C3/C4 distribution in the Inner Mongolia, P. R. China, steppe by geostatistical analysis of carbon isotope data of vegetation and sheep wool. Standing community biomass (n=118) and sheep wool (n=146) were sampled in a ∼0.2 Mio km 2 area. Samples from ten consecutive years (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) were obtained. Community biomass samples represented the carbon isotopic composition of standing vegetation on about 1000 m 2 ("community-scale"), whereas the spatio-temporal scale of wool reflected the isotope composition of the entire area grazed by the herd during a 1-yr period (∼5-10 km 2 , "farm-scale"). Pair wise sampling of wool and vegetation revealed a 13 C-enrichment of 2.7±0.7‰ (95% confidence interval) in wool relative to vegetation, but this shift exhibited no apparent relationships with environmental parameters or stocking rate. The proportion of C4 plants in aboveground biomass (P C4 , %) was estimated with a two-member mixing model of 13 C discrimination by C3 and C4 vegetation ( 13 3 and 13 4 , respectively), in accounting for the effects of changing 13 C in atmospheric CO 2 on sample isotope composition, and of altitude and aridity on 13 3 . P C4 averaged 19%, but the variation was enormous: full-scale (0% to 100%) at community-scale, and 0% to 85% at farm-scale. The farm-scale variation of P C4 exhibited a clear regional pattern over a range of ∼250 km. Importantly P C4 was significantly higher above the 22 • C isotherm of the warmest month, which was obtained from annual high-resolution Correspondence to: K. Auerswald (auerswald@wzw.tum.de) maps and averaged over the different sampling years. This is consistent with predictions from C3/C4 crossover temperature of quantum yield or light use efficiency in C3 and C4 plants. Still, temperature gradients accounted for only 10% of the farm-scale variation of P C4 , indicating that additional factors control P C4 on this scale.

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Section: Isotopic Shift Between Vegetation and Woolmentioning

confidence: 96%

Large regional-scale variation in C3/C4 distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia steppe is revealed by grazer wool carbon isotope composition

Auerswald¹,

Wittmer²,

Männel³

et al. 2009

Biogeosciences

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“…The d 13 C values in casein were 2.9 (AE0.3)& and 4.2 (AE0.4)& higher than in forage for AV and MDS respectively. In the literature, an increase in the value of d 13 C passing from the diet to the animal product in the range of 1e4& is reported for milk from grass-fed cows, while maize feeding results in a decrease of up to À4& (Camin et al, 2004(Camin et al, , 2008Knobbe et al, 2006;Masud et al, 1999;Metges et al, 1990;Minson et al, 1975). The increase in MDS d 13 C could be related both to isotope fractionation during feed protein conversion into animal and milk protein, and to maize supplementation, which is known to have a significantly higher 13 C content (À12 to À14&).…”

Section: The Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…C isotope ratio (expressed as d 13 C) of milk and cheese components is related to the quantity of maize, which is an important constituent of cows' diet in many countries, especially in intensive breeding systems, but is often also used for energy supplementation in other dairy systems. Maize is a C4 plant with higher (Camin et al, 2004(Camin et al, , 2008Crittenden et al, 2007;Knobbe et al, 2006;Kornexl et al, 1997;Masud, Vallet, & Martin, 1999;Metges et al, 1990;Minson, Ludlow, & Troughton, 1975;Molkentin, 2009;Molkentin & Giesemann, 2007;Sacco et al, 2009). Each 10% increase in maize content in the diet corresponds to a 0.7e1.0& increase in the d 13 C of casein and a d 13 C maximum threshold value of À23.5& is suggested for milk casein, above which the presence of maize in the diet cannot be excluded (Camin et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

H, C, N and O stable isotope characteristics of alpine forage, milk and cheese

Bontempo

Lombardi

Paoletti

et al. 2012

International Dairy Journal

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a b s t r a c t H, C, N, O stable isotope ratios of forage, milk and the corresponding cheese were analysed to define the isotopic characteristics of two typical mountain cheeses produced in two different terroirs with different types of vegetation. d 13C was shown to be mainly influenced by the presence of C4 plants in animal diet and, in the case of C3 plant-based forage it was below À23& varying according to the site and herbage type. d 15 N is more related to vegetation type and confirmed to be lower than þ4& for alpine products.

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“…animal migration, trophic interactions and carbon flow through ecosystems (Boecklen et al, 2011;and references therein). Generally, the δ 13 C signal changes little during trophic transfer (DeNiro and Epstein, 1978;Haines, 1976;Minson et al, 1975), and carbon isotopes are therefore mainly used to distinguish between food sources based on the difference in δ 13 C signals between e.g. marine primary producers and terrestrial C3 and C4 plants (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of gill and white muscle tissue of fish

Svensson

Freitas

Schouten

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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Differences in natural carbon isotope ratios of milk and hair from cattle grazing tropical and temperate pastures

Cited by 134 publications

References 6 publications

Large regional-scale variation in C3/C4 distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia steppe is revealed by grazer wool carbon isotope composition

Large regional-scale variation in C3/C4 distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia steppe is revealed by grazer wool carbon isotope composition

H, C, N and O stable isotope characteristics of alpine forage, milk and cheese

Comparison of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of gill and white muscle tissue of fish

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