Search results for "ISOTOPE"
showing 10 items of 2232 documents
Co-existing with the alien: evidence for environmental control on trophic interactions between a native (Atherina boyeri) and a non-indigenous fish s…
2022
Biological invasions are a widespread problem worldwide, as invasive non-indigenous species (NIS) may affect native populations through direct (e. g., predation) or indirect (e.g., competition) trophic interactions, leading to changes in the food web structure. The trophic relationships of the invasive eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki and the native big-scale sand smelt Atherina boyeri coexisting in three Mediterranean coastal ponds characterized by different trophic statuses (from oligotrophic to hypereutrophic) were assessed in spring through isotopic niche analysis and Bayesian mixing models. The two fish relied on the distinctive trophic pathways in the different ponds, with the …
The Effect of Temporal Changes and Environmental Trophic Condition on the Isotopic Composition (omega13C and omega15N) of Atherina boyeri (Risso, 181…
2002
δ13C and δ15N of organic matter sources and consumers were employed to analyse trophic differentiation between a benthic consumer, Gobius niger (L., 1758) (Pisces, Osteichthyes), and a pelagic consumer, Atherina boyeri (Risso, 1810) (Pisces, Osteichthyes) in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Lake of Sabaudia) in winter and summer 1999. Trophic differences between the two species throughout the two sampling periods were related to the environmental trophic condition (i. e. nutrient and phytopigment concentrations). Although these two fish have different habitats, they both exploited benthic organisms, above all in summer. When the nutrient and phytopigment concentrations were higher (summer), …
Comparison of stable isotope composition and inorganic and organic contaminant levels in wild and farmed bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, in the Medite…
2009
Abstract Stable isotope composition (δ13C and δ15N) and persistent pollutants, including heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cu, Zn) and organochlorine compounds (PCBs, HCB and p,p′-DDE), were measured in muscle and liver tissues of wild and farmed bluefin tunas to investigate the changes occurring during the farming period and to assess the quality, in terms of contaminants, of the final product. At the end of farming, the food supplied was clearly integrated into the tuna tissues as derived from stable isotope signatures, and, contrarily to the literature findings obtained for other species, farmed tunas showed slight variations in persistent elements and chemical compounds in comparison with w…
The trophic transfer of persistent pollutants (HCB, DDTs, PCBs) within polar marine food webs.
2017
Biomagnification (increase in contaminant concentrations at successively higher levels of trophic web), is a process that can transversally impair biodiversity and human health. Most research shows that biomagnification should be higher at poles with northern sites having a major tendency to biomagnify Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) through their marine food webs. We investigated the biomagnification degree into two marine trophic webs combining carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and POP analyses. We showed that the Antarctic trophic web was more depleted than the sub-Arctic one and the differences highlighted for the basal part could explain the difference in length between them. Co…
Horizontal and vertical food web structure drives trace element trophic transfer in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica
2019
Abstract Despite a vast amount of literature has focused on trace element (TE) contamination in Antarctica during the last decades, the assessment of the main pathways driving TE transfer to the biota is still an overlooked issue. This limits the ability to predict how variations in sea-ice dynamics and productivity due to climate change will affect TE allocation in the food web. Here, food web structure of Tethys Bay (Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica) was first characterised by analysing carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) in organic matter sources (sediment and planktonic, benthic and sympagic primary producers) and consumers (zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, fish and …
Stable isotope evidence for the environmental impact of a land-based fish farm in the western Mediterranean
2004
Isotopic examination (delta(13)C and delta(15)N) of organic matter sources and consumers was used to assess the impact and trace the dispersal of wastewater from a land-based fish farm in western Mediterranean. The results provide evidence of the non-negligible effect of aquaculture facilities on the natural stable isotopic composition of organisms. Aquaculture waste entered the food web, altering the natural isotopic composition of organic matter sources at the base and the upper trophic levels. Nitrogen-rich fish waste mainly affected delta(15)N values, while delta(13)C showed less alteration. Waste seemed to disperse widely enough to affect the isotopic composition at the study site abou…
HCB, p,p'-DDE and PCB ontogenetic transfer and magnification in bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) from the Mediterranean Sea.
2007
The bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus 1758), is biologically and economically important in the Atlantic--Mediterranean ecosystems. Bluefin tuna feed on diverse food items depending on their age, thus they occupy different trophic levels during their lifespan. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p'-DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are well-known persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Mediterranean basin. The relationship between stable isotopes of nitrogen (N) and the POP residue levels in tissues has recently increased knowledge on the link between the trophic levels and the contaminant accumulation. Trophic levels were estimated by using 15N/14N ratio (delta15N) and HCB, p,p'-DDE…
Trace elements and stable isotopes in penguin chicks and eggs: A baseline for monitoring the Ross Sea MPA and trophic transfer studies.
2021
Multi-tissue trace elements (TEs), C, N concentrations and stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) of chick carcasses and eggs of Adelie and Emperor penguins were studied to i) provide reference data before the recent institution of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (Antarctica), and ii) provide conversion factors that allow estimating C, N, δ13C and δ15N in edible tissues from non-edible ones, thus improving the use of stable isotopes in contamination and trophic transfer studies. Higher concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn and Pb were found in chick carcasses than in eggs, suggesting increasing contamination in recent decades and high toxicity risks for penguin consumers. Isotopic conversion fa…
Tracking multiple pathways of waste from a northern bluefin tuna farm in a marine-coastal area.
2011
Aquaculture of bluefin tuna in Mediterranean coastal waters has generated growing concern about the negative environmental effects. In the present isotopic study we examined the dispersal and fate of organic matter derived from a Mediterranean tuna farm in the surrounding environment. An overall enrichment in the heavy nitrogen isotope was found in the feed and in farmed tunas, indicating the input of isotopically traceable organic matter in the system. Waste was clearly traceable in the water column up to 1000 m from the cages, while only slight accumulation occurred in the sediment just below the cages. Waste was isotopically shown also to contribute to the diet of demersal and benthopela…
Baseline assessment of heavy metals content and trophic position of the invasive blue swimming crab Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) in the Gulf of Ga…
2018
This study provides a baseline assessment of cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc concentrations in muscles, gills, and exoskeleton of the Lessepsian blue swimming crab Portunus segnis captured in the Gulf of Gabès (Southern Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia) in November 2015. Furthermore, the species’ trophic position is estimated using CN stable isotope analysis. The exoskeleton showed the lowest metal contents; in soft tissues, the essential Cu, Fe, and Zn and the non-essential Cd, Mn, and Pb showed the highest and lowest concentrations, respectively. The crab was characterized by a trophic position of 3.32, confirming its carnivorous trophic habits. Compared with literature data on…