Urbanization-induced simplification of isotopic space in birds from a big Neotropical city.

Among the many changes associated with the urbanization process, changes in resource availability can directly impact local wildlife populations. Urban areas suppress native vegetation and convert natural environments into impervious surfaces, modifying the composition and quantity of available food resources. Understanding the food requirements of species is crucial, mainly because it is one of the main elements that characterize their ecological niche and structure local communities.

Diet and between-tissue isotope comparisons reveal different foraging strategies for age and sex of a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola Linnaeus, 1766) population.

Measuring stable isotopes in different tissues offers the opportunity to provide insight into the foraging ecology of a species. This study aimed to assess how diet varies between yellow females, yellow males, and dull individuals of a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) population. We measured δ13C and δ15N in blood over a year, and in different feathers, to estimate seasonal consistency of resource use for each category.

Differentiating wild from captive animals: an isotopic approach.

Background: Wildlife farming can be an important but complex tool for conservation. To achieve conservation benefits, wildlife farming should meet a variety of criteria, including traceability conditions to identify the animals' origin. The traditional techniques for discriminating between wild and captive animals may be insufficient to prevent doubts or misdeclaration, especially when labels are not expected or mandatory.

Soil δN spatial distribution is primarily shaped by climatic patterns in the semiarid Caatinga, Northeast Brazil.

Soil nitrogen isotopic composition (δN) is an invaluable tool as it integrates nitrogen (N) transformations in soils. In addition to serving as a baseline to understand the N cycle, spatial representations of δN across landscapes (or isoscapes) is a multi-purpose tool useful to investigate, for example, plant-microbe interactions, animal migration and forensics. We investigate the climatic and edaphic controls of δN utilising data from 29 geographical locations sampled across the semiarid Brazilian Caatinga biome.