An Assessment of the Importance of Terrestrial Primary Productivity to an Arctic and a Temperate Estuarine Tidal Flat Using Stable Isotope Ratios of Carbon and Nitrogen

Abstract

The isotopic composition of the organic components of an animal's body, with respect to carbon and nitrogen, reflect the weighted average of the isotopic compositions of the animal's food sources, with a certain degree of enrichment in the heavier isotopes. Thus, by comparing the isotopic compositions of the animal and all the potential food sources, it is possible to ascertain the relative proportions of each availible food source in its diet, if the various food sources are sufficiently isotopically distinct. This approach is particularly usefull in estuarine communities where food-webs tend to be complex and where there are several sources of primary productivity. In this study it was used on two types of claw in an arctic and a temperate estuarine tidal flat in order to assess the importance of terrestrially fixed organic matter to each community. The results indicated that while marine and terrestrial organics were important food sources in the arctic tidal flat, the clams in the temperate site depended mostly on marine organics.