Search results for "multiple levels"

A Bayesian stable isotope mixing model for coping with multiple isotopes, multiple trophic steps and small sample sizes

2022

We introduce a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model for estimating the relative contributions of different dietary components to the tissues of consumers within food webs. The model is implemented with the probabilistic programming language Stan. The model incorporates isotopes of multiple elements (e.g. C, N, H) for two trophic levels, when the structure of the food web is known. In addition, the model allows inclusion of latent trophic levels (i.e. for which no empirical data are available) intermediate between sources and measured consumers. Running the model in simulations driven by a real dataset from Finnish lakes, we tested the sensitivity of the posterior distributions by altering c…