Temporal and spatial isotopic variability of marine prey species in south-eastern Australia: Potential implications for predator diet studies.

ABSTRACT: Stable isotope analyses, particularly of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), are used to investigate ecological relationships among species. For marine predators, research has shown the main factors influencing their intra-specific and intra-individual isotopic variation are geographical movements and changes in the composition of diet over time. However, as the differences seen may be the result of changes in the prey items consumed, a change in feeding location or the combination of both, knowledge of the temporal and spatial consistency in the isotopic values of prey becomes crucial for making accurate inferences about predator diets. This study used an abundant marine predator, the Australasian gannet (Morus serrator), as prey sampler to investigate the annual variation in fish and squi

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Malagon MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8631622 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature