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Grasshopper Food Web Analysis: Use of Carbon Isotope Ratios to Examine Feeding Relationships Among Terrestrial Herbivores
Author(s) -
Fry Brian,
Joern Anthony,
Parker P. L.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1936580
Subject(s) - grasshopper , isotopes of carbon , herbivore , δ13c , terrestrial plant , generalist and specialist species , isotope analysis , biology , carbon fibers , isotope , food web , ecology , stable isotope ratio , botany , ecosystem , total organic carbon , habitat , physics , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite number , composite material
Twenty—five species of grasshoppers and 61 plant species were collected from a west Texas study site. Stomach contents of grasshoppers and carbon isotope ratios for plants and grasshoppers were determined and correlated to test the hypothesis that herbivores have the same carbon isotope ratio as their food. The results of this study include; (1) grasshopper carbon isotope ratios were similar to the carbon isotope ratios of the diet; (2) @M @M and @V @V of the same species differed little in their feeding on C_3 and C_4 plants are measured either by stomach content data or carbon isotope ratios; (3) in 7 specialist species which fed on either C_3 or C_4 plants, individual grasshoppers generally differed in their carbon isotope ratios by 1.6% or less, 3 generalist species which fed on substantial amounts of both C_3 and C_4 plants showed larger amounts of individual variation; (4) both the average carbon isotope ratio for a grasshopper species and the variability of carbon isotope ratios among individuals of the species are useful in predicting grasshopper diet in terms of mixtures of C_3 and C_4 plants.