Using Stable-Isotope Analysis as a Technique for Determining Consumption of Supplementary Foods by Individual Birds

The condor

Gillian N. Robb¹ 

关键词: breeding success;    foraging ecology;    mixing models;    stable isotope;    SIAR;    supplementary feeding;   

DOI  :  10.1525/cond.2011.090111

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Central Ornithology Publication Office

【 摘 要 】

Abstract. The amount of supplementary food humans provide to wild animals is increasing, yet the full effects of this provisioning remain unclear. For these effects to be assessed at the levels of both the population and the individual, the degree to which individuals are using this resource must be quantified. Traditional approaches rely on observations of feeding animals and analysis of gut contents and feces, but these have several limitations. Stable-isotope analysis can overcome some of these. If supplementary food items are isotopically distinct from natural ones, the relative contribution of supplementary food to the diet may be quantified accurately. We demonstrate how the isotopic signature of supplementary foods can be manipulated to increase their discrimination from natural food sources and provide an example of the utility of this approach in a supplementary feeding study. We provided supplementary food over a winter, then sampled birds during the following breeding season and analyzed their ...

【 授权许可】

CC BY