Does delta15N in river food webs reflect the intensity and origin of N loads from the watershed?

The Science of the Total Environment
Caroline Anderson, G Cabana

Abstract

Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (delta15N) were measured in invertebrates and fish collected from 82 river sites located in the Saint-Lawrence Lowlands in Québec, Canada, to examine the relationship between aquatic biota delta15N and anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loads. Mean delta15N values of all three trophic levels examined (primary consumers, predatory invertebrates and invertebrate-feeding fish) were highly correlated with total anthropogenic N loads on the watershed (kg N km-2 year-1; r2>0.61, p<0.0001) and with N loads originating from livestock manure (r2>0.62, p<0.0001), synthetic fertilizers (r2>0.45, p<0.0001), and human population (r2>0.29, p<0.0001), respectively. Significant relationships were also observed between primary consumer delta15N and N loads originating from each of the three livestock species examined (bovines, pigs and poultry; p<0.0001). Furthermore, all three animal species contributed significantly and independently in elevating primary consumer delta15N (multiple r2=0.67, p<0.0001). Curvilinear regressions were observed at all levels of analysis, delta15N values increasing slowly over a wide range of low levels of N loads, but increasing much faster as N loads grew larger. The three anthropogenic N so...Continue Reading

References

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May 26, 1999·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·D Tilman
Jun 25, 2002·Ambio·James N Galloway, Ellis B Cowling

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Citations

Oct 14, 2008·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·D L RogowskiJ M Epifanio
Apr 3, 2014·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Carla L AtkinsonCaryn C Vaughn
Aug 20, 2009·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Matthew W Diebel, M Jake Vander Zanden
Aug 30, 2008·Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM·Joanna KolasinskiPatrick Frouin
Aug 13, 2013·PloS One·James H LarsonJohn C Nelson
Jan 31, 2021·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Wellen Fernanda Louzada CasteloJosefa Varela Guerra
May 30, 2009·Environmental Science & Technology·Lia C ChasarGeorge R Aiken
Sep 5, 2021·Oecologia·Débora Reis de CarvalhoPaulo Santos Pompeu
Oct 30, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Magella PelletierSerge Moore

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