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Stable isotopes and animal migration tracking

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  • 12-02-2011 3:42pm
    #1
    gypsy_rose
    Registered Users Posts: 453 ✭✭


    Hi all, hope I'm posting in the right forum for this, basically I have to read a few research papers for a project on this, problem is, I'm not sure I totally understand how this works to track animals. Google etc hasn't helped, so was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for info for this, I can't start reading the papers if I don't even know how this works!
    Thanks


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    #2
    darjeeling
    Registered Users Posts: 962 ✭✭✭darjeeling


    Is this to do with analysis of - say - Oxygen isotopes in teeth? The relative abundance of different oxygen isotopes varies with geography. Growing teeth and bones incorporate oxygen, and so acquire a signature of the local geography. By looking at an animal's oxygen isotope signature, you can see whether or not it matches the environment in which the animal was found. This tells you if it has moved from the place where it was born & / or grew up.

    Wikipedia's isotope analysis page gives an introduction.


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    #3
    El Siglo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,803 ✭✭✭El Siglo


    gypsy_rose wrote: »
    Hi all, hope I'm posting in the right forum for this, basically I have to read a few research papers for a project on this, problem is, I'm not sure I totally understand how this works to track animals. Google etc hasn't helped, so was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for info for this, I can't start reading the papers if I don't even know how this works!
    Thanks

    Are you looking at say trophic enrichment, e.g. small fish eaten by a big fish which is eaten by a bigger fish? It depends on what isotopes you're looking for as well. δ13C and C/N ratios can be used to discriminate between C3 and C4 metabolising plants, along with terrestrial and marine sources of organic carbon. It can be used for provenance studies of sediments and plants in this regard. This article can show you how useful stable isotopes can be...;)


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