Model explanation of the seasonal variation of δ¹⁸O in cow (Bos taurus) hair under temperate conditions.

ABSTRACT: Oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O) in animal and human tissues are expected to be good recorders of geographical origin and migration histories. However, seasonal variation of δ¹⁸O may diminish the origin information in the tissues. Here the seasonality of δ¹⁸O in tail hair was investigated in a domestic suckler cow (Bos taurus) that underwent different ambient conditions, physiological states, keeping and feeding during five years. A detailed mechanistic model was built to explain this variation. The measured δ¹⁸O in hair significantly related (p < 0.05) to the δ¹⁸O in meteoric water in a regression analysis. Modelling suggested that this relation was only partly derived from the direct influence of feed moisture. Ambient conditions (temperature,

SUBMITTER: Chen G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5428254 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature