Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors
T2 - comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009)
AU - Perga, Marie-Elodie
AU - Grey, Jonathan
PY - 2010/8
Y1 - 2010/8
N2 - 1. In a recent paper, Caut, Angulo & Courchamp (2008, Functional Ecology, 22, 255) experimentally measured isotope discrimination factors for rats Rattus rattus. In their study, values for their discrimination factors spanned a much larger range than previously reported in the literature and were found to be negatively related to the stable isotope composition of the diet that the rats were fed. 2. In a subsequent meta-analysis, Caut, Angulo & Courchamp (2009, Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, 443) confirmed the trends they had found in their previous study and pointed to a method for obtaining adequate values for discrimination factors when they could not be measured experimentally. 3.Synthesis and applications. We argue that the discrimination factors determined by Caut et al. (2008) were an artefact of experimental design. We also argue that the reported linear relationships between the stable isotope composition of the diet and isotope discrimination factors in their follow-up meta-analyses (Caut et al. 2009) do not reflect relevant trends that can be extrapolated to the field and that the method they proposed for obtaining adequate values for discrimination factors should be used with considerable care.
AB - 1. In a recent paper, Caut, Angulo & Courchamp (2008, Functional Ecology, 22, 255) experimentally measured isotope discrimination factors for rats Rattus rattus. In their study, values for their discrimination factors spanned a much larger range than previously reported in the literature and were found to be negatively related to the stable isotope composition of the diet that the rats were fed. 2. In a subsequent meta-analysis, Caut, Angulo & Courchamp (2009, Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, 443) confirmed the trends they had found in their previous study and pointed to a method for obtaining adequate values for discrimination factors when they could not be measured experimentally. 3.Synthesis and applications. We argue that the discrimination factors determined by Caut et al. (2008) were an artefact of experimental design. We also argue that the reported linear relationships between the stable isotope composition of the diet and isotope discrimination factors in their follow-up meta-analyses (Caut et al. 2009) do not reflect relevant trends that can be extrapolated to the field and that the method they proposed for obtaining adequate values for discrimination factors should be used with considerable care.
KW - dietary protein source
KW - food web
KW - isotope routing
KW - nutrient allocation
KW - omnivorous
KW - stable isotope analysis
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01730.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01730.x
M3 - Journal article
VL - 47
SP - 942
EP - 947
JO - Journal of Applied Ecology
JF - Journal of Applied Ecology
SN - 0021-8901
IS - 4
ER -