Assessing the Utility of Hydrogen, Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopes in Estimating Consumer Allochthony in Two Shallow Eutrophic Lakes.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogen stable isotopes (δ2H) have recently been used to complement δ13C and δ15N in food web studies due to their potentially greater power to separate sources of organic matter in aquatic food webs. However, uncertainties remain regarding the use of δ2H, since little is known about the potential variation in the amount of exchangeable hydrogen (Hex) among common sample materials or the patterns of δ2H when entire food webs are considered. We assessed differences in Hex among the typical sample materials in freshwater studies and used δ2H, δ13C and δ15N to compare their effectiveness in tracing allochthonous matter in food webs of two small temperate lakes. Our results showed higher average amounts of Hex in animal tissues (27% in fish and macroinvertebrates, 19% in zooplankton) compared

SUBMITTER: Syvaranta J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4863965 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature