Carbon isotope fractionation of amino acids in fish muscle reflects biosynthesis and isotopic routing from dietary protein

  1. Kelton W. McMahon1,*,
  2. Marilyn L. Fogel2,
  3. Travis S. Elsdon3,
  4. Simon R. Thorrold4

Article first published online: 9 JUL 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2010.01722.x

Issue

Journal of Animal Ecology

Journal of Animal Ecology

Volume 79, Issue 5, pages 1132–1141, September 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

McMahon, K. W., Fogel, M. L., Elsdon, T. S. and Thorrold, S. R. (2010), Carbon isotope fractionation of amino acids in fish muscle reflects biosynthesis and isotopic routing from dietary protein. Journal of Animal Ecology, 79: 1132–1141. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2010.01722.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Joint Program in Oceanography and Ocean Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

  2. 2

    Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd. N.W., Washington, DC 20015, USA

  3. 3

    Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

  4. 4

    Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

* Correspondence author. E-mail: kmcmahon@whoi.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 5 AUG 2010
  2. Article first published online: 9 JUL 2010
  3. Received 1 September 2009; accepted 9 June 2010 Handling Editor: Ryan Norris

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Keywords:

  • compound-specific stable isotope analysis;
  • feeding experiment;
  • food web;
  • metabolic processing;
  • trophic dynamics

Summary

1. Analysis of stable carbon isotopes is a valuable tool for studies of diet, habitat use and migration. However, significant variability in the degree of trophic fractionation (Δ13CC-D) between consumer (C) and diet (D) has highlighted our lack of understanding of the biochemical and physiological underpinnings of stable isotope ratios in tissues.

2. An opportunity now exists to increase the specificity of dietary studies by analyzing the δ13C values of amino acids (AAs). Common mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus, Linnaeus 1766) were reared on four isotopically distinct diets to examine individual AA Δ13CC-D variability in fish muscle.

3. Modest bulk tissue Δ13CC-D values reflected relatively large trophic fractionation for many non-essential AAs and little to no fractionation for all essential AAs.

4. Essential AA δ13C values were not significantly different between diet and consumer (Δ13CC-D = 0·0 ± 0·4‰), making them ideal tracers of carbon sources at the base of the food web. Stable isotope analysis of muscle essential AAs provides a promising tool for dietary reconstruction and identifying baseline δ13C values to track animal movement through isotopically distinct food webs.

5. Non-essential AA Δ13CC-D values showed evidence of both de novo biosynthesis and direct isotopic routing from dietary protein. We attributed patterns in Δ13CC-D to variability in protein content and AA composition of the diet as well as differential utilization of dietary constituents contributing to the bulk carbon pool. This variability illustrates the complicated nature of metabolism and suggests caution must be taken with the assumptions used to interpret bulk stable isotope data in dietary studies.

6. Our study is the first to investigate the expression of AA Δ13CC-D values for a marine vertebrate and should provide for significant refinements in studies of diet, habitat use and migration using stable isotopes.

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