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Isotopic enrichment in herbivorous insects: a comparative field-based study of variation

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Abstract

Researchers will be able to use stable isotope analysis to study community structure in an efficient way, without a need for extensive calibrations, if isotopic enrichment values are consistent, or if variation in enrichment values can be predicted. In this study, we generated an experimental data set of δ15N and δ13C enrichment means for 22 terrestrial herbivorous arthropods feeding on 18 different host plants. Mean enrichments observed across a single trophic transfer (plants to herbivores) were −0.53±0.26‰ for δ13C (range: −3.47‰ to 1.89‰) and 1.88±0.37‰ for δ15N (range: −0.20‰ to 6.59‰). The mean δ13C enrichment was significantly lower than that reported in recent literature surveys, whereas the mean δ15N enrichment was not significantly different. The experimental data set provided no support for recent hypotheses advanced to explain variation in enrichment values, including the proposed roles for consumer feeding mode, development type, and diet C:N ratio. A larger data set, formed by combining our experimental data with data from the literature, did suggest possible roles for feeding mode, nitrogen recycling, herbivore life stage, and host plant type. Our results indicate that species enrichment values are variable even in this relatively narrow defined group of organisms and that our ability to predict enrichment values of terrestrial herbivorous arthropods based on physiological, ecological, or taxonomic traits is low. The primary implications are that (1) mean enrichment may have to be measured empirically for each trophic link of interest, rather than relying on estimates from a broad survey of animal taxa and (2) the advantage of using stable isotope analysis to probe animal communities that are recalcitrant to other modes of study will be somewhat diminished as a consequence.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank UCD Student Farm and Sagehen Creek Research Station for granting permission for insect collection; P. Ward, T. Kondo, J. DeBenedictis, and the UCD Herbarium for their help with specimen identification; T. Mittler and N. Willits for technical advice; G. Langellotto for sharing unpublished data; C. Armer, J. Harmon, R. Karban, G. Langellotto, S. Scheu, and L. Yang, who provided helpful comments on the manuscript; and the three anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the revised manuscript. This work was supported by funds from USDA NRICGP grant 2001–35302–10955 to JAR. The experiment in this study was conducted in accordance with the laws of the United States of America.

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  1. Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Kenneth O. Spence & Jay A. Rosenheim

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  1. Kenneth O. Spence
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  2. Jay A. Rosenheim
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Correspondence to Kenneth O. Spence.

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Communicated by Carlos Martinez del Rio

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Spence, K.O., Rosenheim, J.A. Isotopic enrichment in herbivorous insects: a comparative field-based study of variation. Oecologia 146, 89–97 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0170-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0170-9

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