Possible ideas on carbon and nitrogen trophic fractionation of food chains: a new aspect of food‐chain stable isotope analysis in Lake Biwa, Lake Baikal, and the Mongolian grasslands

Wada, Eitaro; Ishii, Reiichiro; Aita, Maki Noguchi; Ogawa, Nanako O.; Kohzu, Ayato; Hyodo, Fujio; Yamada, Yoshihiro

doi:10.1007/s11284-012-1024-7

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…BSIA and CSIA-AA for TP estimation Table 1 summarizes the BSIA and CSIA-AA methodologies for estimating the TP of animals in natural food webs. Detailed comments on the analytical procedures and biochemical basis for both methods is beyond the scope of this paper, and is holistically overviewed in elsewhere (e.g., Wada et al 2013;Ohkouchi et al 2015Ohkouchi et al , 2017McMahon and McCarthy 2016). In this paper, only the three most critical features of both the methods in the context of food web science were highlighted, as follows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of compound‐specific nitrogen isotope analysis of amino acids in trophic ecology: assumptions, applications, and implications

Ishikawa

2018

Ecological Research

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Knowledge of the diet source and trophic position of organisms is fundamental in food web science. Since the 1980s, stable isotopes of light elements such as 13 C and 15 N have provided unique information on the food web structure in a variety of ecosystems. More recently, novel isotope tools such as stable isotopes of heavy elements, radioisotopes, and compound-specific isotope analysis, have been examined by researchers. Here I reviewed the use of compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) as a useful dietary tracer in food web ecology. Its three key features-(1) offsetting against isotopic variation; (2) universality of the trophic discrimination factor; and (3) sensitivity to source mixing-were compared with conventional isotope analysis for the bulk tissue of organisms. These three advantages of CSIA-AA will allow future researchers to (1) estimate the integrated trophic position (iTP) of animal communities; (2) infer trophic transfer efficiency (TTE) in food webs; and (3) quantify contributions from different resources to animals, all of which are crucial for understanding the relationship between biodiversity and multitrophic ecosystem functioning. Further development of trophic ecology will be facilitated by both methodological refinement of CSIA-AA and its application to a wider range of organisms, food webs, and ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of compound‐specific nitrogen isotope analysis of amino acids in trophic ecology: assumptions, applications, and implications

Ishikawa

2018

Ecological Research

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“…Stable isotope ecology has become an indispensable and informative tool for predicting the flow of organic matter through food webs in a variety of habitats (Peterson and Fry, 1987;Bouillion et al, 2011;Wada et al, 2013). The use of stable isotopes provides a better long-term image of the diet of an organism, rather than the more temporally-biased view which would be provided by gut content analysis (GCA) alone (Hesslein et al, 1993;Van der Zanden et al, 1997).…”

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confidence: 99%

Temporal and spatial dietary dynamics of the longspine glassy (<i>Ambassis ambassis</i>) in the St Lucia estuarine system, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Dyer¹,

Perissinotto²,

Carrasco³

2015

WSA

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Among the 155 recorded fish species in the St Lucia estuarine system, Ambassis ambassis is one of the most prominent. After a decade dominated by dry and hypersaline conditions, the St Lucia system has changed dramatically with the onset of a new wet phase in 2011. In response, A. ambassis has expanded its distribution throughout the system. Stable δ 15 N and δ 13 C isotope analysis was used in conjunction with gut content analysis to elucidate the diet of this species at 5 representative sampling localities. Zooplankton as well as terrestrial and aquatic insects were prevalent in the diet. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed a considerable dietary overlap for the fish collected at the different localities. Seasonally, trophic position differed significantly, with the dry season showing consistently higher isotopic signatures at all sites. A significant relationship was identified between trophic position, salinity and temperature, indicating the potential effect of these variables on the diet. The ability of A. ambassis to link lower trophic level organisms, such as zooplankton, with larger piscivorous predators is thus indicative of the vital role this species occupies in the food webs of the St Lucia system.

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“…The consistency of δ 13 C enrichment found in the present study resulted in δ 13 Cδ 15 N regression lines with a common slope of 1.51, similar to those of the planktonic communities in the subarctic north Pacific Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean (1. 28-1.78;Aita et al, 2011;Wada et al, 2013). These linear relationships indicate that biological production was substantially sustained by autochthonous primary production in the epipelagic ecosystems in the open ocean.…”

Section: Trophic Relationships Between Biotic Componentsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…To demonstrate the distributional patterns of the nitrogen sources that sustain epipelagic ecosystems, in the present study, we examined the relationship between geographical variations in the diazotrophic activity and the trophic relationships from primary producers to secondary producers and predators at the higher trophic levels along a 12,000‐km meridional transect in the mid‐Pacific Ocean, where the effect of anthropogenic nitrogen through atmospheric deposition is small (Jickells et al, ). To evaluate the differential contribution of diazotrophs to the grazing food chain, we investigated regional patterns of nitrogen supply to primary producers and its transfer through the food chain via the analysis of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios, both of which are known to show constant trophic fractionation in epipelagic biological components in the open ocean (Aita et al, ; Wada et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotopic evidence for the differential contribution of diazotrophs to the epipelagic grazing food chain in the mid‐Pacific Ocean

Horii

Takahashi

Shiozaki

et al. 2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim Biological nitrogen fixation supports primary production in oligotrophic water, but its link to higher trophic levels has not been described fully on a biogeographical basis. Here, we determine the regional patterns of the contribution of the combined nitrogen to biological production within the epipelagic layer of the mid‐Pacific Ocean using the isotopic signatures of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) in the biological components. Location The mid‐Pacific Ocean along 170° W between the southern subtropical front and the Chukchi Sea. Time period Northern and austral summer in 2013 and 2014. Major taxa studied Planktonic and micronektonic biota in the euphotic layer. Methods We measured the geographical variations in δ15N and δ13C of the suspended particulate organic matter (POM), mesozooplankton assemblage and micronektonic fish. We analysed the relationships among these values and the environmental variables of temperature, nitrate concentration and biological nitrogen fixation activity along a 12,000‐km meridional transect. Results The POM δ15N at 0 m was negatively correlated with in situ N2 fixation activity in the subtropical region, whereas that in the equatorial and high‐latitude regions was correlated with the nitrate concentration at 0 m. We found that the ratios of the increase in δ15N to δ13C along the grazing food chain were consistent throughout the equatorial and subtropical regions. Cluster analyses based on the stable isotopic signatures in the biotic components revealed that the food chains in the stations within the subtropical mid‐Pacific Ocean were separated into three groups based on the differential contributions of biological nitrogen fixation. Main conclusions Distinct food chains from primary to tertiary production sustained by different nitrogen sources, nitrate below the euphotic zone, and diazotrophic nitrogen occur within the same biogeographical provinces in the subtropical mid‐Pacific Ocean. The diazotroph‐dominant community contributes substantially to the apex predators in the central areas of the subtropical gyres.

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Possible ideas on carbon and nitrogen trophic fractionation of food chains: a new aspect of food‐chain stable isotope analysis in Lake Biwa, Lake Baikal, and the Mongolian grasslands

Abstract: Trophic fractionation of carbon and nitrogen isotopes (Dd 13 C, Dd 15 N) was examined using previously complied databases for food chains in Lake Biwa, Lake Baikal, and Mongolian grassland. The following two features were clarified: (1)

Cited by 19 publications

References 42 publications

Use of compound‐specific nitrogen isotope analysis of amino acids in trophic ecology: assumptions, applications, and implications

Use of compound‐specific nitrogen isotope analysis of amino acids in trophic ecology: assumptions, applications, and implications

Temporal and spatial dietary dynamics of the longspine glassy (<i>Ambassis ambassis</i>) in the St Lucia estuarine system, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Stable isotopic evidence for the differential contribution of diazotrophs to the epipelagic grazing food chain in the mid‐Pacific Ocean

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