Influence of sample preparation on estuarine macrofauna stable isotope signatures in the context of contaminant bioaccumulation studies

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Amanda N CurtisCelia Y Chen

Abstract

The ratios of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen provide important information on food sources of aquatic organisms and trophic structure of aquatic food webs. For many studies, trophic position and food source are linked to bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of contaminants from prey to predators. In these cases, it is useful to use measurements on whole organisms to make direct comparisons of contaminant bioaccumulation and food web attributes. There is a great deal of variation in methods used for stable isotope analysis, particularly in the selection of tissue type and sample preparation prior to stable isotope analysis. While there have been aquatic studies that examined methodological differences, few have focused on estuarine organisms. In this study, the effects of depuration and tissue dissection on the stable isotope enrichment of common estuarine invertebrates and fish were examined. Homogenized tissues of non-depurated whole organisms were compared to dissected muscle tissue or depurated whole organisms. A 24 h depuration did not change the mean δ15N and δ13C values for most species examined. Additionally, as expected, significant differences in carbon and nitrogen signatures were found when muscle tissues wer...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 1, 2020·The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology·Hidetaka NomakiNoriyuki Isobe
Mar 5, 2020·Environmental Science & Technology·Renske P J HoondertA Jan Hendriks

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