[Meta-analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic enrichment factors for aquatic animals]

Isotopic enrichment factor (Δ, the difference between the δ value of food and a consumer tissue) is an important parameter in using stable isotope analysis (SIA) to reconstruct diets, characterize trophic relationships, elucidate patterns of resource allocation, and construct food webs. Isotopic enrichment factor has been considered as a constancy value across a broad range of animals. However, recent studies showed that the isotopic enrichment factor differed among various types of animals although the magnitude of variation was not clear. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize and compare Δ13C and Δ15N among four types of aquatic animals (teleosts, crustaceans, reptiles and molluscs). We searched for papers published before 2014 on Web of Science and CNKI using the key words "stable isotope or isotopic fractionation or fractionation factor or isotopic enrichment or trophic enrichment". Forty-two publications that contain 140 studies on Δ13C and 159 studies on Δ15N were obtained. We conducted three parallel meta-analyses by using three types of weights (the reciprocal of variance as weights, the sample size as weights, and equal weights). The results showed that no significant difference in Δ13C among different animal types (teleosts 1.0 per thousand, crustaceans 1.3 per thousand, reptiles 0.5 per thousand, and molluscs 1.5 per thousand), while Δ15N values were significantly different (teleosts 2.4 per thousand, crustaceans 3.6 per thousand, reptiles 1.0 per thousand and molluscs 2.5 per thousand). Our results suggested that the overall mean of Δ13C could be used as a general enrichment factor, but Δ15N should be chosen according to the type of aquatic animals in using SIA to analyze trophic relationships, patterns of resource allocation and food webs.