Ecological tracers can quantify food web structure and change / Craig E. Hebert, Michael T. Arts, D.V. Chip Weseloh.: En13-5/05-187E-PDF

"Disruption of natural food webs is becoming a commonplace occurrence as a result of human activities. Harvesting of natural resources (e.g. fishing), climate change, and the introduction of exotic species are but a few of the processes that can significantly alter food web structure and function. It is within this rapidly changing ecological context that we must improve our ability to define food web structure as well as detect and understand the implications of food web change. To do so requires the development, validation, and application of ecological tracers that can provide insights into the movement of energy, nutrients, and contaminants through food webs. In this study, we examine the utility of two groups of naturally-occurring intrinsic tracers to provide such information in a predatory seabird, the herring gull (Larus argentatus). Stable nitrogen isotopes and fatty acids are used to define diet composition and to determine how diet is affected by ecosystem processes and change. The use of these tracers in concert leads to a better understanding of pathways of energy flow in food webs"--Abstract.

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