Using fatty acids as dietary tracers in seabird trophic ecology: theory, application and limitations

摘要: Analysis of fatty acids (FAs) is an increasingly utilized tool in studies trophic ecology marine ecosystems. This powerful technique has proved useful delineating spatial and temporal variability diets, identifying the consumption key species, providing quantitative estimates diet composition. Although consumer FA signatures are undeniably influenced by diet, they can also be affected other factors including life-history stage, quality, physiological state. Here, we review how FAs assimilated, deposited, metabolized birds, implications these processes on various tissues commonly sampled for analyses. We then examine assumptions underlying signature analysis when used seabird propose a direction future laboratory experiments that needed to refine approach. The correct interpretation data relies accounting alter predator metabolism controlling lipid content composition prey. Efforts should made incorporate uncertainty associated with into models designed estimation.