—Stable-isotope analysis of feathers is an increasingly important source of information on diet and movement of birds. Feathers are typically cleaned with a solvent before analysis, but the effects of this cleaning on the resulting data have not been examined critically. We conducted an experiment to determine whether a cleaning regime affected hydrogen ( D), carbon ( C), and nitrogen ( N) ...

Nitrogen is a key limiting nutrient that influences marine productivity and carbon sequestration in the ocean via the biological pump. In this study, we present the first estimates of nitrogen cycling in a coupled 3D ocean-biogeochemistry-isotope model forced with realistic boundary conditions from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ∼21,000 years before present constrained by nitrogen isotopes. The...

We report the measurement of the natural isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon in subcellular volumes of individual cells among a population of cultured cells using a multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometer (MIMS), [MIMS is the prototype of the NanoSIMS 50, Cameca, France.] We also measured the nitrogen and carbon isotope ratio in cells after they had been cultured in media enriched with the am...

The southeastern portion of North Carolina features a dense crop and animal agricultural region; previous research suggests that this agricultural presence emits a significant portion of the state's nitrogen (i.e., oxides of nitrogen and ammonia) emissions. These findings indicate that transporting air over this region can affect nitrogen concentrations in precipitation at sites as far as 50 mi...

New carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values for human remains dating to the mid-Upper Paleolithic in Europe indicate significant amounts of aquatic (fish, mollusks, and/or birds) foods in some of their diets. Most of this evidence points to exploitation of inland freshwater aquatic resources in particular. By contrast, European Neanderthal collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values do...

Stable isotope ratios are biogeochemical tracers that can be used to determine the source of nutrients and contaminants in avian eggs. However, the interpretation of stable carbon ratios in lipid-rich eggs is complicated because (13)C is depleted in lipids. Variation in (13)C abundance can therefore be obscured by variation in percent lipids. Past attempts to establish an algebraic equation to ...

Compound-specific nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen isotope records from sediments of Sky Pond, an alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, United States of America), were used to evaluate factors contributing to changes in diatom assemblages and bulk organic nitrogen isotope records identified in lake sediments across Colorado, Wyoming, and southern Montana. Nitrogen isotopic record...

Anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen from human sewage are a central concern in urban watershed management. However, identifying the locations of these inputs, whether from improperly functioning or ill-maintained septic tanks or from leaking sewer lines, is difficult. We used nitrogen stable isotope analysis of aquatic food webs as indicators of sewage-derived nitrogen in Valley Creek watershed. S...

[1] Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (N/N; dN) were determined in sediments, suspended matter, and water at selected sites in the Baltic Sea area in order to set up a source budget and trace the fate of anthropogenic N sources. Sediments of the shallow near-coastal area of the southern and eastern Baltic Sea have an average dN of 7.3 ± 2.1%, interpreted as a characteristic trace of residual anthr...

Stable isotope analysis (SIA; carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen) of human tissues offers a means for assessing diet among living humans. Stable isotope ratios of broad categories of food and drink food vary systematically, and stable isotope ratios in consumer tissues represent a composite of the isotopic ratios of food and drink consumed during an individual's life. Isotopic evide...