Journal article
Effects of Acid Treatment on Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios in Ecological Samples: A Review and Synthesis
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Vol.5(6), pp.541-550
2014
Abstract
Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen are mainstay tracers in diverse fields of ecology, particularly in studies of food webs. Investigators are generally interested in tracing dietary C and N, and hence routinely remove non-dietary, inorganic C contained in calcified structures (e.g. shells, bones) by chemical dissolution of the carbonates. Acid treatment can, however, isotopically fractionate samples if part of the organic matter is lost or chemically modified, resulting in potentially altered δ13C and δ15N values. Here we synthesize the effects of acid treatments on stable isotope analysis reported in the literature, showing that: 1.) the method can change both δ13C and δ15N values; 2.) shifts in δ13C are generally, but not always, consistent with expectations of more depleted carbon ratios after the removal of the isotopically heavier inorganic carbonates; 3.) nitrogen ratios either decrease or increase in 15N content; and 4.) the majority (74 to 79% of comparisons) of reported changes to δ13C and δ15N values attributable to acid treatment are less than 1 ‰, but larger acid effects can occur. Acidification is needed if mechanical removal of calcified structures is unfeasible in carbonate-rich sample matrices containing low organic C and N, but should otherwise be very carefully considered before its use as a routine pre-treatment step of biological samples in isotope ratio mass spectrometry.
Details
- Title
- Effects of Acid Treatment on Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios in Ecological Samples: A Review and Synthesis
- Authors
- Thomas Schlacher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringR M Connolly (Author) - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Vol.5(6), pp.541-550
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.1111/2041-210X.12183
- ISSN
- 2041-210X
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2014 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. This is the accepted version of the following article: Schlacher, T, Connolly, R M (2014) Effects of Acid Treatment on Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios in Ecological Samples: A Review and Synthesis. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 5:6, pp.541-550 , which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12183
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99448747602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology