Stable isotope analysis of feces can provide a non-invasive method for tracking the dietary habits of nearly any mammalian species. While fecal samples are often collected for macroscopic and genetic study, stable isotope analysis can also be applied to expand the knowledge of species-specific dietary ecology. It is somewhat unclear how digestion changes the isotope ratios of animals' diets, so more controlled diet studies are needed. To date, most diet-to-feces controlled stable isotope experiments have been performed on herbivores, so in this study I analyzed the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in the diet and feces of the meerkat (Suricata suricatta), a small omnivorous mammal. The carbon trophic discrimination factor between diet and feces (Δ13Cfeces) is calculated to be 0.1 ± 1.5‰, which is not significantly different from zero, and in turn, not different than the dietary input. On the other hand, the nitrogen trophic discrimination factor (Δ15Nfeces) is 1.5 ± 1.1‰, which is significantly different from zero, meaning it is different than the average dietary input. Based on data generated in this experiment and a review of the published literature, carbon isotopes of feces characterize diet, while nitrogen isotope ratios of feces are consistently higher than dietary inputs, meaning a discrimination factor needs to be taken into account. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values of feces are an excellent snapshot of diet that can be used in concert with other analytical methods to better understand ecology, diets, and habitat use of mammals.

译文

粪便的稳定同位素分析可为追踪几乎所有哺乳动物的饮食习惯提供一种非侵入性的方法。虽然通常收集粪便样本用于宏观和遗传研究,但稳定同位素分析也可用于扩展对物种特定的饮食生态学的了解。尚不清楚消化如何改变动物饮食的同位素比率,因此需要更严格的饮食研究。迄今为止,大多数日粮对粪便控制的稳定同位素实验都是在食草动物上进行的,因此在这项研究中,我分析了杂食性小型猫鼬(Suricata suricatta)的日粮和粪便中碳和氮的稳定同位素比。饮食与粪便之间的碳营养辨别因子(Δ13Cfeces)计算为0.1±1.5‰,与零无显着差异,反过来与饮食投入也无差异。另一方面,氮营养辨别因子(Δ15Nfeces)为1.5±1.1‰,与零显着不同,这意味着它与平均饮食投入不同。根据该实验产生的数据和对已发表文献的评论,粪便的碳同位素表征饮食,而粪便的氮同位素比率始终高于饮食投入,这意味着需要考虑歧视因素。粪便的碳和氮稳定同位素值是饮食的极好快照,可以与其他分析方法结合使用,以更好地了解哺乳动物的生态,饮食和栖息地。

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