stable isotope analysis

Knowledge graph centered on stable isotope analysis with 63 nodes and 135 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, Beetles, Engelmann Spruce, Colorado East River Valley.

Method synopsis

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of ant tissues to determine trophic position and dietary composition. Involves specimen preparation, drying, grinding, and mass spectrometry analysis.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Progressive sensitivity of trophic levels to warming underlies an elevational gradient in ant–aphid mutualism strength (2019), Oikos. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Collect ants for stable isotope analysis
   Collected 1-3 adults and pupae from subset of active focal ant colonies (4-5 mounds distributed throughout each valley). Ants collected as they departed mound surface (not returning foragers), dried at 60°C for 72h before being ground to fine powder. Approximately 1mg powder packed into 5×9mm tins for elemental analysis.
   Quantities: 1-3 individuals per colony, 4-5 colonies per valley, n=28 total mounds, 1mg powder per analysisDuration: August 2010 collection, 72h drying periodConditions: Only departing (not returning) foragers collected to avoid gut content effects
   Equipment: drying oven, grinding equipment, 5×9mm tins, UC Irvine Stable Isotope Ratio and Mass Spectrometry Facility

Typical Equipment

• drying oven
• grinding equipment
• 5×9mm tins
• UC Irvine Stable Isotope Ratio and Mass Spectrometry Facility

Output Measurements

• δ¹⁵N
• δ¹³C
• C:N ratio
• percent C
• percent N

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol

Places Where Used