scholarly journals Stable isotopes demonstrate intraspecific variation in habitat use and trophic level of non‐breeding albatrosses

Ibis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Mills ◽  
Rona A.R. McGill ◽  
Yves Cherel ◽  
Stephen C. Votier ◽  
Richard A. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Trophic Level

Relationship between morphometrics and trophic levels in deep-sea fishes

2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Ladds ◽  
MH Pinkerton ◽  
E Jones ◽  
LM Durante ◽  
MR Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fish Size ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Gape Size ◽  
Morphological Variables

Marine food webs are structured, in part, by predator gape size. Species found in deep-sea environments may have evolved such that they can consume prey of a wide range of sizes, to maximise resource intake in a low-productivity ecosystem. Estimates of gape size are central to some types of ecosystem model that determine which prey are available to predators, but cannot always be measured directly. Deep-sea species are hypothesized to have larger gape sizes than shallower-water species relative to their body size and, because of pronounced adaptive foraging behaviour, show only a weak relationship between gape size and trophic level. Here we present new data describing selective morphological measurements and gape sizes of 134 osteichthyan and chondrichthyan species from the deep sea (200-1300 m) off New Zealand. We describe how gape size (height, width and area) varied with factors including fish size, taxonomy (class and order within a class) and trophic level estimated from stable isotopes. For deep-sea species, there was a strong relationship between gape size and fish size, better predicted by body mass than total length, which varied by taxonomic group. Results show that predictions of gape size can be made from commonly measured morphological variables. No relationship between gape size and trophic level was found, likely a reflection of using trophic level estimates from stable isotopes as opposed to the commonly used estimates from FishBase. These results support the hypothesis that deep-sea fish are generalists within their environment, including suspected scavenging, even at the highest trophic levels.

Measurement of the trophic level of fish in a coral reef ecosystem using stable isotopes

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guohuan YANG ◽  
Xingli SUN ◽  
Xiuqiong HOU ◽  
Chunliang CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystem ◽  
Reef Ecosystem

The monogenean Paradiplozoon ichthyoxanthon behaves like a micropredator on two of its hosts, as indicated by stable isotopes

2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Sures ◽  
M. Nachev ◽  
B.M. Gilbert ◽  
Q.M. Dos Santos ◽  
M.A. Jochmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Trophic Interactions ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Vaal Dam ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Host Fishes

AbstractThe analysis of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen has been used as a fingerprint for understanding the trophic interactions of organisms. Most of these studies have been applied to free-living organisms, while parasites have largely been neglected. Studies dealing with parasites so far have assessed the carbon and nitrogen signatures in endoparasites or ectoparasites of different hosts, without showing general trends concerning the nutritional relationships within host–parasite associations. Moreover, in most cases such systems involved a single host and parasite species. The present study is therefore the first to detail the trophic interactions of a freshwater monogenean–host model using δ13C and δ15N, where a single monogenean species infects two distinctly different hosts. Host fishes, Labeobarbus aeneus and Labeobarbus kimberleyensis from the Vaal Dam, South Africa, were assessed for the monogenean parasite Paradiplozoon ichthyoxanthon, individuals of which were removed from the gills of the hosts. The parasites and host muscle samples were analysed for signatures of δ13C and δ15N using an elemental analyser connected to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Host fish appear to use partly different food sources, with L. aeneus having slightly elevated δ13C signatures compared to L. kimberleyensis, and showed only small differences with regard to their nitrogen signatures, suggesting that both species range on the same trophic level. Carbon and nitrogen signatures in P. ichthyoxanthon showed that the parasites mirrored the small differences in dietary carbon sources of the host but, according to δ15N signatures, the parasite ranged on a higher trophic level than the hosts. This relationship resembles predator–prey relationships and therefore suggests that P. ichthyoxanthon might act as a micropredator, similar to blood-sucking arthropods such as mites and fleas.

scholarly journals Differential habitat use by Common Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon)

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 166-171
Author(s):  
Lorin A. Neuman-Lee ◽  
Andrew M. Durso ◽  
Nicholas M. Kiriazis ◽  
Melanie J. Olds ◽  
Stephen J. Mullin
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ontogenetic Variation ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Central Illinois

Understanding intraspecific variation in habitat use is important for the management of any species. In many studies of reptiles, habitat use by juveniles is poorly understood when compared to their adult conspecifics because of capture biases and logistical constraints. We compared habitat use between sexes and age classes of Common Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) at a reservoir in central Illinois. Juvenile N. sipedon occurred more frequently in habitat with high conopy cover, whereas adults N. sipedon, especially reproductive females, were found exclusively in habitat with no canopy cover. Adult males used both locations equally. We emphasize the need to investigate ontogenetic variation in habitat use to better understand how reptiles utilize diverse anthropogenically altered landscapes.

Feeding ecology and trophic level of the banded guitarfish, Zapteryx exasperata, inferred from stable isotopes and stomach contents analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
María-del-Pilar Blanco-Parra ◽  
Felipe Galván-Magaña ◽  
J. Fernando Márquez-Farías ◽  
Carlos Alberto Niño-Torres
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Stomach Contents Analysis

scholarly journals Spatial variation in the stable isotopes of 13C and 15N and trophic position of Leporinus friderici (Characiformes, Anostomidae) in Corumbá Reservoir, Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre L. Pereira ◽  
Evanilde Benedito ◽  
Cássia M. Sakuragui
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
The One

Stable isotopes of carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) were used to describe sources of energy and trophic position for adult Leporinus friderici in the area of the Corumbá Reservoir, Brazil. Samples were collected from April 1999 to March 2000. Spatial variations were not identified in the isotopic composition. The maximum and minimum contribution of C4 plants calculated integrating the variation of plants and fish were 47.7% and 2.4%, respectively. Among C3 plants, periphyton presented closer isotopic values to those observed for fishes, corresponding to an important carbon source. The proportion of ingested plant item is larger in rivers upstream from the reservoir (42.7%), which justifies the smaller trophic level among there. However, in the reservoir, the ingestion of fish was 81.4%, while ingested plants contributed with 18.6%. Downstream from the dam, participation of plant item was even smaller (14.4%). Although the trophic position calculated with diet data was proportional to the one calculated with delta15N values, the former elevated the trophic level of L. friderici in the food web, because estimated trophic positions were based on fish items belonging to the 2nd (a) and to the 3rd (b) trophic levels.

Intraspecific Variation In Habitat Use and Movement In Long-Nosed Leopard Lizards (Gambelia wislizenii) From the Alvord Basin, Oregon

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace E. Garrison ◽  
João C. Zecchini Gebin ◽  
Jacob F. Penner ◽  
Faelan E. Jacobson ◽  
Maria A. Eifler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Alvord Basin
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