Comparison of muscle and hair stable isotope ratios in three phocid seals.

Pulkkinen, Katja; Kunnasranta, Mervi; Sinisalo, Tuula

In order to see if hair isotope values can be used for predicting muscle isotope values, we employed general linear models with normal distribution using muscle values as dependent and hair values as predictor values for each seal species. The repeatability of the 13 C and 15 N stable isotope measurements of multiple muscle and hair samples from individual seals for Saimaa ringed seals, Baltic ringed seals, and Baltic gray seals. This means that hair and muscle values are not directly proportional, but low hair values predict a higher muscle value, and high hair values predict a lower muscle value. The best fit model explaining variation in the muscle stable isotope values included hair stable isotope values and month both for SP 13 sp C and for SP 15 sp N values (Table S1).

STABLE isotopes; HAIR growth; MUSCLES; HAIR; ANIMAL ecophysiology; STABLE isotope analysis

Marine Mammal Science, 2020, Vol 36, Issue 3, p981

0824-0469

Academic Journal

10.1111/mms.12679