Trophic Relationships and Habitat Preferences of Delphinids from the Southeastern Brazilian Coast Determined by Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Composition

Bisi, Tatiana; Dorneles, Paulo; Lailson-Brito, José; Lepoint, Gilles; de Freitas Azevedo, Alexandre F; Flach, Leonardo; Malm, Olaf; Das, Krishna

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082205

Article (Scientific journals)

Trophic Relationships and Habitat Preferences of Delphinids from the Southeastern Brazilian Coast Determined by Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Composition

Bisi, Tatiana; Dorneles, Paulo; Lailson-Brito, José et al.

2013 • In PLoS ONE, 8 (12)

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/160036

DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0082205

PubMed
24358155

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Keywords :

marine mammals; dolphins; Brazil; stable isotopes; diet; trophic ecology

Abstract :

[en] To investigate the foraging habitats of delphinids in southeastern Brazil, we analyzed stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in muscle samples of the following 10 delphinid species: Sotalia guianensis, Stenella frontalis, Tursiops truncatus, Steno bredanensis, Pseudorca crassidens, Delphinus sp., Lagenodelphis hosei, Stenella attenuata, Stenella longirostris and Grampus griseus. We also compared the δ13C and δ15N values among four populations of S. guianensis. Variation in carbon isotope results from coast to ocean indicated that there was a significant decrease in δ13C values from estuarine dolphins to oceanic species. S. guianensis from Guanabara Bay had the highest mean δ13C value, while oceanic species showed significantly lower δ13C values. The highest δ15N values were observed for P. crassidens and T. truncatus, suggesting that these species occupy the highest trophic position among the delphinids studied here. The oceanic species S. attenuata, G. griseus and L. hosei had the lowest δ15N values. Stable isotope analysis showed that the three populations of S. guianensis in coastal bays had different δ13C values, but similar δ15N results. Guiana dolphins from Sepetiba and Ilha Grande bays had different foraging habitat, with specimens from Ilha Grande showing more negative δ13C values. This study provides further information on the feeding ecology of delphinids occurring in southeastern Brazil, with evidence of distinctive foraging habitats and the occupation of different ecological niches by these species in the study area.

Research center :

MARE - Centre Interfacultaire de Recherches en Océanologie - ULiège

Disciplines :

Aquatic sciences & oceanology
Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Bisi, Tatiana

Dorneles, Paulo

Lailson-Brito, José

Lepoint, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Océanologie

de Freitas Azevedo, Alexandre F

Flach, Leonardo

Malm, Olaf

Das, Krishna ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Océanologie

Language :

English

Title :

Trophic Relationships and Habitat Preferences of Delphinids from the Southeastern Brazilian Coast Determined by Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Composition

Publication date :

December 2013

Journal title :

PLoS ONE

eISSN :

1932-6203

Publisher :

Public Library of Science, San Franscisco, United States - California

Volume :

Issue :

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0082205

Name of the research project :

“Ciências do Mar”- Proc. 23038.051661/2009-18; Proc. 490471/2010-2 CNPq).

Funders :

CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [BR]
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [BR]

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