Back to Search
Start Over
Stable isotope ecology of black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Kenya.
- Source :
-
Oecologia [Oecologia] 2018 Aug; Vol. 187 (4), pp. 1095-1105. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Jun 28. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Stable isotope and elemental ratios in hair are influenced by the environment, including both climate and geology. Stable carbon isotopes can be used to give estimates of the C <subscript>4</subscript> /CAM fraction of diets of herbivorous mammals; stable nitrogen isotopes are related to the local water deficit; strontium isotopes are determined by the local geology. We studied hair from rhinos in Kenya to determine spatial patterns in δ <superscript>13</superscript> C, δ <superscript>15</superscript> N, and <superscript>87</superscript> Sr/ <superscript>86</superscript> Sr ratios. The samples of rhino hair were collected during Kenya Wildlife Service translocation or veterinary activities. δ <superscript>13</superscript> C values showed diets dominated by C <subscript>3</subscript> foods, but in some regions the diet, at least seasonally, contained significant quantities (i.e., > ca. 20%) of C <subscript>4</subscript> /CAM foods. δ <superscript>15</superscript> N values were related to water deficit, with higher δ <superscript>15</superscript> N values in regions with high water deficit. <superscript>87</superscript> Sr/ <superscript>86</superscript> Sr isotope ratios were found to be related to the local geological substrate suggesting that <superscript>87</superscript> Sr/ <superscript>86</superscript> Sr isotope ratios are provisionally useful for determining the origins of illegal wildlife materials in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Carbon Isotopes
Kenya
Nitrogen Isotopes
Ecology
Perissodactyla
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1432-1939
- Volume :
- 187
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Oecologia
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29955983
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4185-4