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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
Renal structure in neotropical bats: using stable isotopes to explore relationships between diet and morphology
L G Herrera1, C Martínez del Río, E Braun
1Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Zoología.
Abstract:
The relationship between kidney structure and diet was examined in several species of bats from the tropics. The trophic level of the bats was determined by their stable nitrogen isotopic composition (delta15 N). The results indicate that the relative thickness of the renal medulla is directly related to the trophic level of the bats. Additionally, we also determined the relationship between body mass and kidney structure. Relative medullary thickness was reciprocally related to body mass in animalivorous bats but no relationship was found in phytophagous bats. Stable isotope analysis provided a quantitative approximation of diet to test its relationship with kidney structure.

