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Challenges using stable isotopes for estimating trophic levels in marine amphipods

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Abstract

In marine food web studies, stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) are widely used to estimate organisms’ trophic levels (TL) and carbon sources, respectively. For smaller organisms, whole specimens are commonly analyzed. However, this “bulk method” involves several pitfalls since different tissues may fractionate stable isotopes differently. We compared the δ15N and δ13C values of exoskeleton versus soft tissue, in relation to whole specimens, of three common Arctic amphipods in Svalbard waters: the benthic Anonyx nugax, the sympagic (ice-associated) Gammarus wilkitzkii and the pelagic Themisto libellula. The δ15N values of the exoskeletons were significantly lower than those of the soft tissues for A. nugax (10.5 ± 0.7‰ vs. 15.7 ± 0.7‰), G. wilkitzkii (3.3 ± 0.3‰ vs. 8.3 ± 0.4‰) and T. libellula (8.6 ± 0.3‰ vs.10.8 ± 0.3‰). The differences in δ13C values between exoskeletons and soft tissues were insignificant, except for A. nugax (−21.2 ± 0.2‰ vs. −20.3 ± 0.2‰, respectively). The δ15N values of whole organisms were between those of the exoskeletons and the soft tissues, being similarly enriched in 15N as the exoskeletons (except G. wilkitzkii) and depleted in 15N by 1.2–3.7‰ compared to the soft tissues. The δ15N-derived TLs of the soft tissues agreed best with the known feeding preferences of the three amphipods, which suggest a potential underestimation of 0.5–1.0 TL when stable isotope analyses are performed on whole crustaceans with thick exoskeletons. The insignificant or small differences in δ13C values among exoskeletons, soft tissues and whole specimens, however, suggest low probability for misinterpretations of crustaceans’ primary carbon source in marine ecosystems with distinctly different δ13C-carbon sources.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank B.A. Bluhm and three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments, and P. Renaud for English editing an earlier version of this manuscript. This study was funded by the Norwegian Research Council (Project nr. 178766/S30; CLEOPATRA) as part of the Norwegian contribution to the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2009 and Statoil through the StatoilHydro-ARCTOS Arctic Research Programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, 9171, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Janne E. Søreide & Henrik Nygård

  2. Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Henrik Nygård

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  1. Janne E. Søreide
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  2. Henrik Nygård
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Correspondence to Janne E. Søreide.

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Søreide, J.E., Nygård, H. Challenges using stable isotopes for estimating trophic levels in marine amphipods. Polar Biol 35, 447–453 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1073-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1073-3

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