In situ (13)C/(12)C isotopic labelling was conducted in field-grown beech (Fagus sylvatica) twigs to study carbon respiration and allocation. This was achieved with a portable gas-exchange open system coupled to an external chamber. This method allowed us to subject leafy twigs to CO(2) with a constant carbon isotope composition (delta(13)C of -51.2 per thousand) in an open system in the field....

A model defining carbon isotope discrimination (delta13C) for crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants was experimentally validated using Kalanchoe daigremontiana. Simultaneous measurements of gas exchange and instantaneous CO2 discrimination (for 13C and 18O) were made from late photoperiod (phase IV of CAM), throughout the dark period (phase I), and into the light (phase II). Measurements of...

We examined 6I3C and 6 " ~ in needle (current and 1-year-old) and soil samples collected on two occasions (July and September 1999) from a 15-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand in an irrigation and fertilization experiment to investigate whether these treatments leave specific isotope signals in the samples and thus to infer the effects of treatments on C and N cycling. Irrespective ...

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is a herbivorous marine mammal that occupies freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. Despite being considered endangered, relatively little is known about its feeding ecology. The present study expands on previous work on manatee feeding ecology by providing critical baseline parameters for accurate isotopic data interpretation. Stable car...

Abstract Understanding carbon incorporation rates and diet-to-tissue discrimination (Δ(13)C(tissue-diet)) in animals is necessary to interpret stable isotope data collected from animals in the field. Our current understanding of the carbon dynamics in terrestrial ectotherms such as snakes, lizards, and turtles is poorly developed. Here we use a diet switch experiment to estimate carbon incorpor...

The characteristic decline in height growth that occurs over a tree's lifespan is often called "age-related decline." But is the reduction in height growth in aging trees a function of age or of size? We grafted shoot tips across different ages and sizes of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees to determine whether the decline in height growth is mediated by tree size or by t...