Summary
The δ13C values of whole body samples of the beetle Tribolium castaneum are closely correlated with the δ13C values of the plant carbon in its diet. The correlation is always high for diets ranging from 100% C4 to 100% C3 plant material. The degree of correlation is independent of the growth rate of the animals.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Black, C.C., Jr., Bender, M.M.: 200-1 values in marine organisms from the Great Barrier Reef. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 3, 25–32 (1976)
Craig, H.: The geochemistry of the stable carbon isotopes. Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta 3, 53–92 (1953)
DeNiro, M.J., Epstein, S.: Mechanism of carbon isotope fractionation associated with lipid synthesis. Science 197, 261–269 (1977)
DeNiro, M.J., Epstein, S.: Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta 42, 495–506 (1978)
Gilbert, L.I.: Lipid metabolism and function in insects. Adv. in Insect Physiol. 4, 69–211 (1967)
Mook, W.A., Grootes, P.M.: A measuring procedure and corrections for the high precision mass spectrometric analysis of isotope abundance ratios, especially referring to carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. and Ion Phys. 12, 273–298 (1973)
Nier, A.O.: A redetermination of the relative abundances of isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and potassium. Physics Rev. 77, 789–793 (1950)
Park, R., Epstein, S.: Metabolic fractionation of C13 and C12 in plants. Plant Physiol. 36, 133–138 (1961)
Smith, B.N., Oliver, J., McMillan, C.: Influence of carbon source, oxygen concentration, light intensity, and temperature on 13C/12C ratios in plant tissues. Bot. Gaz. 137, 99–104 (1976)
von Unruh, G.E., Hauber, D.J., Schoeller, D.A., Hayes, J.M.: Limits of detection of carbon-13 labelled drugs and their metabolites in human urine. Biomed. Mass Spectrom. 1, 345–349 (1974)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Teeri, J.A., Schoeller, D.A. δ13C values of an herbivore and the ratio of C3 to C4 plant carbon in its diet. Oecologia 39, 197–200 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348068
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348068