Gannes L Z, Martínez del Rio C, Koch P
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, NJ 08544-1003, USA.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 1998 Mar;119(3):725-37. doi: 10.1016/s1095-6433(98)01016-2.
Chemical, biological, and physical processes lead to distinctive "isotopic signatures" in biological materials that allow tracing of the origins of organic substances. Isotopic variation has been extensively used by plant physiological ecologists and by paleontologists, and recently ecologists have adopted the use of stable isotopes to measure ecosystem patterns and processes. To date, animal physiological ecologists have made minimal use of naturally occurring stable isotopes as tracers. Here we provide a review of the current and potential uses of naturally occurring stable isotopes in animal physiological ecology. We outline the physical and biological processes that lead to variation in isotopic abundance in plants and animals. We summarize current uses in animal physiological ecology (diet reconstruction and animal movement patterns), and suggest areas of research where the use of stable isotopes can be fruitful (protein balance and turnover and the allocation of dietary nutrients). We argue that animal physiological ecologists can benefit from including the measurement of naturally occurring stable isotopes in their battery of techniques. We also argue that animal physiologists can make an important contribution to the emerging field of stable isotopes in biology by testing experimentally the plethora of assumptions upon which the techniques rely.
化学、生物和物理过程会在生物材料中产生独特的“同位素特征”，从而能够追溯有机物质的来源。植物生理生态学家和古生物学家广泛使用同位素变异，最近生态学家也开始采用稳定同位素来测量生态系统模式和过程。迄今为止，动物生理生态学家对天然存在的稳定同位素作为示踪剂的使用极少。在此，我们综述了天然存在的稳定同位素在动物生理生态学中的当前及潜在用途。我们概述了导致动植物同位素丰度变化的物理和生物过程。我们总结了稳定同位素在动物生理生态学中的当前用途（饮食重建和动物运动模式），并指出稳定同位素应用可能富有成效的研究领域（蛋白质平衡与周转以及膳食营养分配）。我们认为动物生理生态学家可通过将天然存在的稳定同位素测量纳入其技术组合而受益。我们还认为，动物生理学家可以通过对该技术所依赖的大量假设进行实验测试，为生物学中稳定同位素这一新兴领域做出重要贡献。
