The influence of coastal access on isotope variation in Icelandic arctic foxes.

ABSTRACT: To quantify the ecological effects of predator populations, it is important to evaluate how population-level specializations are dictated by intra- versus inter-individual dietary variation. Coastal habitats contain prey from the terrestrial biome, the marine biome and prey confined to the coastal region. Such habitats have therefore been suggested to better support predator populations compared to habitats without coastal access. We used stable isotope data on a small generalist predator, the arctic fox, to infer dietary strategies between adult and juvenile individuals with and without coastal access on Iceland. Our results suggest that foxes in coastal habitats exhibited a broader isotope niche breadth compared to foxes in inland habitats. This broader niche was related to a greater div

SUBMITTER: Dalerum F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3291546 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature