Trophic structure in a seabird host-parasite food web: insights from stable isotope analyses.

ABSTRACT: Ecological studies on food webs rarely include parasites, partly due to the complexity and dimensionality of host-parasite interaction networks. Multiple co-occurring parasites can show different feeding strategies and thus lead to complex and cryptic trophic relationships, which are often difficult to disentangle by traditional methods. We analyzed stable isotope ratios of C ((13)C/(12)C, delta(13)C) and N ((15)N/(14)N, delta(15)N) of host and ectoparasite tissues to investigate trophic structure in 4 co-occurring ectoparasites: three lice and one flea species, on two closely related and spatially segregated seabird hosts (Calonectris shearwaters). delta(13)C isotopic signatures confirmed feathers as the main food resource for the three lice species and blood for the flea species. All ect

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Diaz E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2864259 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature