OOS 21 - New Ecological Insights from Stable Isotope Ratios of Amino Acids

Organizer(s)

• SH

  Sean Hixon

  Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology
  Jena, Thuringen, Germany

Co-Organizer(s)

• TL

  Thomas Larsen

  Group leader
  Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Germany
• YW

  Yiming Wang

  Scientist
  Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
  Jena, Thuringen, Germany

Biogeochemical cycles and habitats are increasingly affected by anthropogenic stressors from landscape modification and pollution to over-exploitation and climate change. These stressors contribute to rapid biodiversity loss and altered food web functioning. To understand complex biological and ecological processes that operate at multiple spatial and temporal scales, researchers are increasingly turning to stable isotope ratios (SIR) of individual amino acids (AA). These nitrogenous molecules are a key currency for nutrient exchange, because every living organism synthesizes its proteins from the same set of 20 amino acids. They are also rich in carbon, abundant, and preserve well in biological tissues. SIR of both carbon and nitrogen have demonstrated potential as trophic and food source markers that can overcome many of the issues associated with bulk-SIR such as source equifinality and shifting isotope baseline across time and space. These properties make AA-SIR ideally suited to compare biogeochemical cycling and ecological processes before and after anthropogenic disturbances. However, more applications and method development are needed to better understand the full potential and limitations of AA-SIR markers. In this session, we highlight new AA-SIR applications and frontiers. We emphasize how ecologists can apply this novel tool to better understand ecosystem dynamics, past and present, and characterize the effect of anthropogenic stressors and climate warming on modern food webs.

Presentations:

• 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM PDT

  Applications and Frontiers of Amino Acid Stable Isotope Ratios in Ecological Research
  

  Presenting Author: Thomas Larsen – Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

  Co-author: Yoshito Chikaraishi, Professor – 1) Biogeochemistry Research Center (BGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan. 2) Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

  Co-author: Kyung-Hoon Shin, Professor – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Thomas Larsen – Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
• 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM PDT

  How Much Kelp Could a Sea Cow Eat? identifying Carbon Sources to Sirenian Diets through Amino Acid Stable Isotope Fingerprinting
  

  Presenting Author: Mark Clementz – University of Wyoming, Department of Geology & Geophysics

  Co-author: Thomas Larsen – Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
• 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM PDT

  Tracing deep-sea mining waste into mesopelagic fauna in the eastern tropical North Pacific using amino acid isotope analyses
  

  Presenting Author: Brian N. Popp – Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa

  Co-author: Michael Dowd – Department of Oceanography,/University of Hawaii at Manoa

  Co-author: Jeffrey C. Drazen – Department of Oceanography/University of Hawaii at Manoa
• 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM PDT

  How does mercury transfer along a food chain? An improved biomagnification factor applied to freshwater fish
  

  Presenting Author: Dokyun Kim – Department of Marine Science and Convergent Technology, Hanyang University

  Co-author: Eun-Ji Won – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Ha-Eun Cho – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Jonghyun Lee – EH R&C Co., LTD.

  Co-author: Kyung-Hoon Shin, Professor – Hanyang University
• 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM PDT

  Understanding mercury accumulation in pelagic and benthic fish species using compound-specific stable isotope analysis
  

  Presenting Author: Ji-Eun Kim – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Hee Young Yun – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Eun-Ji Won – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Hyuntae Choi – Hanyang University

  Co-author: Seok-Hyeon Youn – National Institute of Fisheries Science

  Co-author: Sae Yun Kwon – Pohang University of Science and Technology

  Co-author: Kyung-Hoon Shin, Professor – Hanyang University
• 11:15 AM – 11:30 AM PDT

  Archaeological investigations and amino acid stable isotope data reveal patterns of fishing across the food web on California's Channel Islands
  

  Presenting Author: Emma A. Elliott Smith – Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

  Co-author: Todd J. Braje – Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University.

  Co-author: Kenneth W. Gobalet – Department of Biology, California State University, Bakersfield.

  Co-author: Breana Campbell – Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University.

  Co-author: Seth D. D. Newsome – University of New Mexico

  Co-author: Torben C. Rick – Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.