Abstract: Temporal stable isotope records derived from animal tissues are increasingly studied to determine dietary and climatic histories. Despite this, the turnover times governing rates of isotope equilibration in specific tissues following a dietary isotope change are poorly known. The dietary isotope changes recorded in the hair and blood bicarbonate of two adult horses in this study are found to be successfully described by a model having three exponential isotope pools. For horse tail hair, the carbon isotope response observed following a dietary change from a C3 to a C4 grass was consistent with a pool having a very fast turnover rate ( t1/2 approximately 0.5 days) that made up approximately 41% of the isotope signal, a pool with an intermediate turnover rate ( t1/2 approximately 4 days) that comprised approximately 15% of the isotope signal, and a pool with very slow turnover rate ( t1/2 approximately 140 days) that made up approximately 44% of the total isotope signal. The carbon isotope signature of horse blood bicarbonate, in contrast, had a different isotopic composition, with approximately 67% of the isotope signal coming from a fast turnover pool ( t1/2 0.2 days), approximately 17% from a pool with an intermediate turnover rate ( t1/2 approximately 3 days) and approximately 16% from a pool with a slow turnover rate ( t1/2 approximately 50 days). The constituent isotope pools probably correspond to one exogenous and two endogenous sources. The exogenous source equates to our fast turnover pool, and the pools with intermediate and slow turnover rates are thought to derive from the turnover of metabolically active tissues and relatively inactive tissues within the body, respectively. It seems that a greater proportion of the amino acids available for hair synthesis come from endogenous sources compared to the compounds undergoing cellular catabolism in the body. Consequently, the isotope composition of blood bicarbonate appears to be much more responsive to dietary isotope changes, whereas the amino acids in the blood exhibit considerable isotopic inertia.
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The study explores the rate of carbon isotope turnover in the tail hair and breath CO2 of horses subject to dietary changes. It proposes a three-pool conceptual model to characterize the observed isotopic response and offers insights into the contributing sources of carbon isotopes in horses.
Approach
The researchers examined isotope changes in two key tissues of two adult horses: tail hair and blood bicarbonate.
Horses’ diets were altered from a C3 grass (a plant that uses the C3 carbon fixing pathway) to a C4 grass (a plant using the C4 pathway) to track the isotopic shift.
The isotopic response was studied using a model that assumes three distinct pools of isotopes, each having different turnover rates.
Findings
For tail hair, the carbon isotope response post-dietary change was best described by a pool with a quick turnover rate (half-life approximately 0.5 days) which comprised about 41% of the isotope signal, a pool with an intermediate turnover rate (half-life about 4 days) contributing about 15%, and a pool with a slow turnover rate (half-life roughly 140 days) accounting for around 44% of the isotope signal.
The carbon isotope signature of horse blood bicarbonate was found to be composed of approximately 67% of the fast turnover pool (half-life 0.2 days), about 17% from an intermediate turnover rate pool (half-life around 3 days), and roughly 16% from a slow turnover rate pool (half-life approximately 50 days).
Interpretations
The researchers suggest that the pool with a quick turnover rate corresponds to an exogenous source, most probably the recent intake from diet.
The pools with intermediate and slow turnover rates are thought to be derived from the metabolic turnover of active and less active bodily tissues, respectively.
The study reveals that, in comparison to compounds undergoing cellular catabolism, more amino acids available for hair synthesis come from endogenous sources.
Therefore, it is easier for the isotopic composition of blood bicarbonate to respond to dietary changes, while blood amino acids maintain a stable isotopic makeup.
Cite This Article
APA
Ayliffe LK, Cerling TE, Robinson T, West AG, Sponheimer M, Passey BH, Hammer J, Roeder B, Dearing MD, Ehleringer JR.
(2004).
Turnover of carbon isotopes in tail hair and breath CO2 of horses fed an isotopically varied diet.
Oecologia, 139(1), 11-22.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1479-x
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