Little is known about the competition between and niche differentiation of water nutrients angiosperm gymnosperm tree species under prolonged drought stress, especially in fragile environments. We imposed 21 d treatments on Broussonetia papyrifera Platycladus orientalis measured water, N, P contents, isotopic composition N C, activity assimilation enzymes, stomatal conductance solo planting mix...

The morphological and biochemical properties of plant canopies are strong predictors of photosynthetic capacity and nutrient cycling. Remote sensing research at the leaf and canopy scales has demonstrated the ability to characterize the biochemical status of vegetation canopies using reflectance spectroscopy, including at the leaf level and canopy level from air- and spaceborne imaging spectrom...

BACKGROUND Marking wild mosquitoes is important for understanding their ecology, behaviours and role in disease transmission. Traditional insect marking techniques include using fluorescent dyes, protein labels, radioactive labels and tags, but such techniques have various limitations; notably low marker retention and inability to mark wild mosquitoes at source. Stable isotopes are gaining wide...

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) and C:N are evaluated in individuals of three species (Festuca lenensis, Potentilla acaulis, and Pontentilla sericea) occurring across an elevation gradient along a south-facing slope. δ13C is a common proxy for water use efficiency (WUE) in plants, C:N is a proxy for nitrogen indicate variation in δ13C values (and hence WUE) that is sig...

The finding that tissue δ(15)N values increase with protein catabolism has led researchers to apply this value to gauge nutritive condition in vertebrates. However, its application to marine mammals has in most occasions failed. We investigated the relationship between δ(15)N values and the fattening/fasting cycle in a model species, the fin whale, a migratory capital breeder that experiences s...

In the past 20 years, rapid progress in stable isotope (SI) studies has allowed scientists to observe natural ecosystems from entirely new perspectives. This report addresses the fundamental concepts underlying the use of the SI ratio. The unique characteristics of the SI ratio make it an interdisciplinary parameter that acts as a chemical fingerprint of biogenic substances and provides a key t...

Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) of plants and soil have been used to study changes in the N cycle during ecosystem succession retrogression. However, little is known about how δ15N mineral dissolved organic (DON) change retrogression, despite their potential inform on processes contributing loss. Here, we examined NH4+ DON together with dominant plant species bulk across a 5,000-year-old ...

Understanding the diet of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) is essential for development appropriate conservation strategies species. This study evaluated use parasitic copepod (Pandarus rhincodonicus) as a proxy to infer short-term foraging habitats and trophic positions shark hosts. To accomplish this, bulk stable carbon (δ13C) nitrogen (δ15N) isotope compositions were analysed from 72 paired sa...

469 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 71:469–475 doi:10.2136/sssaj2005.0283 Received 26 Aug. 2005. *Corresponding author ([email protected]). © Soil Science Society of America 677 S. Segoe Rd. Madison WI 53711 USA The patchy distribution of soil nutrients in shrub–desert ecosystems has been well characterized (Schlesinger et al., 1990), but less is known about how soil microbial community composition,...