Research progress on food sources and food web structure of wetlands based on stable isotopes

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.201707.027

Abstract

Abstract: The trophic dynamics of wetland organisms is the basis of assessing wetland structure and function. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen have been widely applied to identify trophic relationships in food source, food composition and food web transport in wetland ecosystem studies. This paper provided an overall review about the current methodology of isotope mixing model and trophic level in wetland ecosystems, and discussed the standards of trophic fractionation and baseline. Moreover, we characterized the typical food sources and isotopic compositions of wetland ecosystems, summarized the food sources in different trophic levels of herbivores, omnivores and carnivores based on stable isotopic analyses. We also discussed the limitations of stable isotopes in tra-cing food sources and in constructing food webs. Based on the current results, development trends and upcoming requirements, future studies should focus on sample treatment, conservation and trophic enrichment measurement in the wetland food web, as well as on combing a variety of methodologies including traditional stomach stuffing, molecular markers, and multiple isotopes.

CHEN Zhan-yan, WU Hai-tao, WANG Yun-biao, LYU Xian-guo. Research progress on food sources and food web structure of wetlands based on stable isotopes[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017, 28(7): 2389-2398.

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