Trophic Position of the Species and Site Trophic State Affect Diet Niche and Individual Specialization: From Apex Predator to Herbivore.

ABSTRACT: Intra-species variability in isotopic niches, specifically isotopic total niche width (ITNW), isotopic individual niche width (IINW), and isotopic individual specialization (IIS), was studied using an innovative approach without sacrificing the vertebrates. Stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) in four body tissues differing in isotopic half-life were analyzed from four freshwater fish species representing different trophic positions. ITNW was widest for the apex predator (European catfish) and narrowest for the obligate predator (Northern pike). IINW exhibited a polynomial trend for the European catfish, Northern pike, and Eurasian perch (mesopredator), decreasing with body mass and increasing again after exceeding a certain species-dependent body mass threshold

SUBMITTER: Vejrik L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10452534 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature