Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen Stable Isotope Ratios in Chitin

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Chitin

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 34))

Abstract

Stable isotope ratios in chitin are firmly imprinted during biopolymer biosynthesis and reflect dietary, metabolic, and environmental influences. Chitin is a chemically complex amino sugar biopolymer that also includes non-amino-sugar moieties with contrasting isotopic compositions. Reproducible N, C, O-stable isotope determinations should rely on a chemically purified chitin substrate with limited non-amino-sugar contributions. Insecta, Crustacea and Merostomata are not distinguished by systematic isotopic differences. δ13C, δ15N and δ18O values of arthropod chitins show a few ‰ variance within a single individual (lobster), among individuals within a population, along ecdysis (i.e., molting), and age, as long as growth is not accompanied by strong dietary or behavioral changes. Marine arthropod chitin averages 9.1‰ more 13C-enriched than terrestrial chitin. δ15N values of chitin become more positive with increasing trophic level. Although δ18Ochitin from a large array of aquatic crustacean species across many ecosystems expresses only weak overall correlation with δ18Owater and no clear dependence on temperature, a more careful selection of specific modern insect fauna or preserved insect chitin from sediments yields δ18Ochitin values that are useful for reconstructing the isotopic composition of paleoenvironmental water, and for constraining paleohumidity and paleotemperatures. Experimental oxic and anoxic heating and partial biodegradation of chitin in marine anoxic mud and in terrestrial oxic soils did not result in any significant C, N, O-isotopic shifts in the preserved amino sugar. Chemically preserved archeological chitin was found to be isotopically compatible with modern chitin from comparable environments. New analytical stable isotope techniques with reduced sample size requirements open opportunities to utilize geologically preserved chitin in paleoenvironmental studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aberle N, Malzahn AM (2007) Interspecific and nutrient-dependent variations in stable isotope fractionation: experimental studies simulating pelagic multitrophic systems. Oecologia 154:291–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayliffe LK, Chivas AR (1990) Oxygen isotope composition of the bone phosphate of Australian kangaroos: potential as a palaeoenvironmental recorder. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 54:2603–2609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baas M, Briggs DEG, van Heemst JDH, Kear AJ, de Leeuw JW (1995) Selective preservation of chitin during the decay of shrimp. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 59:945–951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boetius A, Lochte K (1994) Regulation of microbial enzymatic degradation of organic-matter in deep-sea sediments. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 104:299–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cott HB (1929) The Zoological Society’s expedition to the Zambesi, 1927: No. 3 Observations on the natural history of the racing crab Ocypode ceratophtalma, from Beira. Proc Zool Soc Lond 1929:755–765

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane J (1941) Eastern Pacific expeditions of the New York Zoological Society. XXIX. On the growth and ecology of brachyuran crabs of the genus Ocypode. Zoologica 26:297–310

    Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro MJ, Epstein S (1978) Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 42:495–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro MJ, Epstein S (1981a) Influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 45:341–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro MJ, Epstein S (1981b) Isotopic composition of cellulose from aquatic organisms. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 45:1885–1894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doi H, Kikuchi E, Takagi S, Shikano S (2006) Selective assimilation by deposit feeders: experimental evidence using stable isotope ratios. Basic Appl Ecol 7:159–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doi H, Kikuchi E, Takagi S, Shikano S (2007) Changes in carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of chironomid larvae during growth, starvation and metamorphosis. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 21:997–1002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery MB, Stott AW, Briggs DEG, Evershed RP (2001) Chitin in the fossil record: identification and quantification of D-glucosamine. Org Geochem 32:745–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • France RL (1994) Nitrogen isotopic composition of marine and freshwater invertebrates. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 115:205–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry B, Sherr EB (1984) δ13C measurements as indicators of carbon flow in marine and freshwater systems. Contrib Mar Sci 27:13–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Grey J, Kelly A, Jones RI (2004) High intraspecific variability in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of lake chironomid larvae. Limnol Oceanogr 49(1):239–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hadwen WL, Arthington AH (2007) Food webs of two intermittently open estuaries receiving 15N-enriched sewage effluent. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 71:347–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes JM (1993) Factors controlling 13C contents of sedimentary organic compounds: principles and evidence. Mar Geol 113:111–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillman K, Gooday GW, Prosser JI (1989) The mineralization of chitin in the sediments of the Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 29:601–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni KM (1983) Some changes in the biochemical composition of the sand crab, Emerita holthuisi, during molt cycle. Comp Physiol Ecol 8:202–204

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarroll D, Loader NJ (2004) Stable isotopes in tree rings. Quat Sci Rev 23:771–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RF (1984) Stable isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in the exoskeleton of insects: developing a tool for paleoclimatic research. University of Waterloo, Dissertation

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller RF (1991) Chitin paleoecology. Biochem Syst Ecol 19:401–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RF, Orr GL, Fritz P, Downer RGH, Morgan AV (1985) Stable carbon isotope ratios in Periplaneta americana L., the American cockroach. Can J Zool 63:584–589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RF, Voss-Foucart MF, Toussaint C, Jeuniaux C (1993) Chitin preservation in Quaternary Coleoptera: preliminary results. Palaeogeogr Palaeocl 103:133–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minagawa M, Wada E (1984) Stepwise enrichment of 15N along food chains: further evidence and the relation between δ15N and animal age. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48:1135–1140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montoya JP (1994) Nitrogen isotope fractionation in the modern ocean: implications for the sedimentary record. In: Zahn R, Pedersen TF, Kaminski MA, Labeyrie L (eds) Carbon cycling in the glacial ocean: constraints on the ocean’s role in global change. NATO ASI Series I: Global Environmental Change, vol 17, pp 259–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Motz JE (2000) Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in fossil insect chitin as paleoenvironmental indicators. Dissertation, University of Waterloo

    Google Scholar 

  • Motz JE, Edwards TWD, Buhay WM (1997) Use of nickel-tube pyrolysis for hydrogen-isotope analysis of water and other compounds. Chem Geol 140:145–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muzzarelli RAA (1977) Chitin. Pergamon, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Muzzarelli RAA, Jeuniaux C, Gooday GW (eds) (1985) Chitin in nature and technology. Plenum, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Overmyer JP, MacNeil MA, Fisk AT (2008) Fractionation and metabolic turnover of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in black fly larvae. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 22:694–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post DM (2002) Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic level position: models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology 83:703–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulicek M, Jeuniaux C (1991) Chitin biodegradation in marine environments – an experimental approach. Biochem Syst Ecol 19:385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rau GH, Sweeney RE, Kaplan IR, Mearns AJ, Young DR (1981) Differences in animal 13C, 15N and D abundance between a polluted and an unpolluted coastal site: likely indicators of sewage uptake by a marine food web. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 13:701–707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker WE (1973) Linear regressions in fishery research. J Fish Res Board Can 30:409–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, DeNiro MJ (1985) Determination of oxygen stable isotope ratios in organic matter containing carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Anal Chem 57:2644–2646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, DeNiro MJ (1986a) Stable isotopic studies on chitin. Measurements on chitin/chitosan isolates and D-glucosamine hydrochloride from chitin. In: Muzzarelli RAA, Jeuniaux C, Gooday GW (eds) Chitin in nature and technology. Plenum, New York, pp 357–364

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, DeNiro MJ (1986b) Stable isotopic studies on chitin II. The 13C/12C and 15N/14N ratios in arthropod chitin. Contrib Mar Sci 29:113–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, DeNiro MJ (1986c) Stable isotopic studies on chitin III. The 18O/16O and D/H ratios in arthropod chitin. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 50:1485–1496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, DeNiro MJ, Poulicek M, Voss-Foucart MF, Goffinet G, Jeuniaux C (1986) Isotopic composition of chitin from arthropods recovered in archaeological contexts as palaeoenvironmental indicators. J Archaeol Sci 13:553–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, Lavens P, Sorgeloos P (1987) Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope ratios in Artemia from different geographical origin. In: Sorgeloos P, Bengtson DA, Decleir W, Jaspers E (eds) Morphology, genetics, strain characterization, toxicology. Artemia research and its applications, vol 1. Universal, Wetteren, Belgium, pp 167–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmelmann A, Wintsch RP, Lewan MD, DeNiro MJ (1998) From modern chitin to thermally mature kerogen: lessons from nitrogen isotope ratios. In: Stankiewicz BA, van Bergen PF (eds) Nitrogen-containing macromolecules in the biosphere and geosphere, vol 707, American Chemical Society Symposium Series. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, pp 226–242

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schoeninger M, DeNiro MJ (1984) Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48:625–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon A, Poulicek M, Velimirov B, Mackenzie FT (1994) Comparison of anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation of mineralized skeletal structures in marine and estuarine conditions. Biogeochemistry 25:167–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stankiewicz BA, Briggs DEG, Evershed RP (1997) Chemical composition of Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossil invertebrate cuticles as revealed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Energy Fuels 11:515–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stankiewicz BA, Briggs DEG, Evershed RP, Miller RF, Bierstedt A (1998a) The fate of chitin in Quaternary and Tertiary strata. In: Stankiewicz BA, van Bergen PF (eds) Nitrogen-containing macromolecules in the biosphere and geosphere, vol 707, American Chemical Society Symposium Series. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, pp 211–224

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stankiewicz BA, Mastalerz M, Hof CHJ, Bierstedt A, Flannery MB, Briggs DEG, Evershed RP (1998b) Biodegradation of the chitin-protein complex in crustacean cuticle. Org Geochem 28:67–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Struck U, Voss M, von Bodungen B (1998) Stable isotopes of nitrogen in fossil cladoceran exoskeletons: Implications for nitrogen sources in the central Baltic Sea during the past Century. Naturwissenschaften 85:597–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tibbets TM, Wheeless LA, Martinez del Rio C (2008) Isotopic enrichment without change in diet: an ontogenetic shift in δ15N during insect metamorphosis. Funct Ecol 22:109–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Vigh DA, Dendinger JE (1982) Temporal relationships of postmolt deposition of calcium, magnesium, chitin and protein in the cuticle of the Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. Comp Biochem Physiol 72A:365–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Francis DR, O’Brien DM, Wooller MJ (2008) A protocol for preparing subfossil chironomid head capsules (Diptera: Chironomidae) for stable isotope analysis in paleoclimate reconstruction and considerations of contamination sources. J Paleolimnol 40:771–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb SC, Hedges REM, Simpson SJ (1998) Diet quality influences the δ13C and δ15N of locusts and their biochemical components. J Exp Biol 201:2903–2911

    Google Scholar 

  • Wooller MJ, Francis D, Fogel ML, Walker MGH, IR WAP (2004) Quantitative paleotemperature estimates from δ18O of chironomid head capsules preserved in arctic lake sediments. J Paleolimnol 31:267–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wooller MJ, Wang Y, Axford Y (2008) A multiple stable isotope record of Late Quaternary limnological changes and chironomid paleoecology from northeastern Iceland. J Paleolimnol 40:63–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Expert advice and contributions were provided by Drs. Hideyuki Doi, Randy F. Miller, John E. Motz, Teresa M. Tibbets, and Matthew Wooller. I gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences Research Grant number DEFG02-00ER15032, and from National Science Foundation grant OCE-0550295. Several figures were adapted and re-drawn, and accompanying text was reproduced from earlier publications, with permission from (1) American Chemical Society Symposium Series 1998, 707, 226–242 (© 1998 American Chemical Society), (2) Contributions in Marine Science 1986, 29, 113–130 (© 1986 Marine Science Institute of the University of Texas at Austin), and from (3) the dissertation of John E. Motz 2000 (© 2000 John E. Motz).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA

    Arndt Schimmelmann

Authors
  1. Arndt Schimmelmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arndt Schimmelmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Transit Campus MGSIPAP, Indian Institute of Science Education an, Complex Sector 26, Mohali, 160019, Chandigarh, India

    Neal S. Gupta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Schimmelmann, A. (2011). Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen Stable Isotope Ratios in Chitin. In: Gupta, N. (eds) Chitin. Topics in Geobiology, vol 34. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9684-5_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation