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以为追踪几乎任何哺乳动物物种的饮食习惯提供一种非侵入性方法。虽然通常收集粪便样本进行宏观和遗传研究,但稳定的同位素分析也可以用于扩展特定物种饮食生态学的知识。目前尚不清楚消化如何改变动物饮食的同位素比率,因此需要进行更多的饮食控制研究。迄今为止,大多数饮食控制的粪便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,我分析了猫鼬 (Suricata suricatta) 的饮食和粪便中的碳和氮稳定同位素比。饮食和粪便之间的碳营养歧视因子 (Δ13Cfeces) 计算为0.1 ± 1.5 ‰,与零没有显着差异,并且反过来与饮食输入没有差异。另一方面,氮营养歧视因子 (Δ15Nfeces) 为1.5 ± 1.1 ‰,与零显着不同,这意味着它不同于平均饮食投入。根据该实验中产生的数据以及对已发表文献的回顾,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绝佳快照,可以与其他分析方法一起使用,以更好地了解哺乳动物的生态,饮食和栖息地使用。

+1
+2
100研值 100研值 ¥99课程
检索文献一次
下载文献一次

去下载>

成功解锁2个技能,为你点赞

《SCI写作十大必备语法》
解决你的SCI语法难题!

技能熟练度+1

视频课《玩转文献检索》
让你成为检索达人!

恭喜完成新手挑战

手机微信扫一扫,添加好友领取

免费领《Endnote文献管理工具+教程》

微信扫码, 免费领取

手机登录

获取验证码
登录