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Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors: comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009)

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Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors: comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009). / Perga, Marie-Elodie; Grey, Jonathan.
In: Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 47, No. 4, 08.2010, p. 942-947.

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Perga ME, Grey J. Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors: comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009). Journal of Applied Ecology. 2010 Aug;47(4):942-947. Epub 2010 Jun 29. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01730.x

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Perga, Marie-Elodie ; Grey, Jonathan. / Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors : comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009). In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 2010 ; Vol. 47, No. 4. pp. 942-947.

Bibtex

@article{8c7f66fd5f314ab19356c7ba7bd8e4a7,
title = "Laboratory measures of isotope discrimination factors: comments on Caut, Angulo and Courchamp (2008, 2009)",
abstract = "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. ",
keywords = "dietary protein source, food web, isotope routing, nutrient allocation, omnivorous, stable isotope analysis",
author = "Marie-Elodie Perga and Jonathan Grey",
year = "2010",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01730.x",
language = "English",
volume = "47",
pages = "942--947",
journal = "Journal of Applied Ecology",
issn = "0021-8901",
publisher = "Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "4",

}

RIS

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 -