
Isotopic niche in the eastern long-necked turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Testudines: Chelidae), along a natural-urban gradient in southeastern Australia
Urbanisation is one of the most common threats to many native species, while others are capable of taking advantage of urban areas and even expanding their niche in urban-natural systems. The analysis of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in a tissue sample provides data that can
elucidate food web dynamics and trophic ecology of an animal. Our study aimed to evaluate variation in food resource exploitation in the freshwater turtle Chelodina longicollis along a habitat gradient (natural, rural, and suburban areas), and intraspecific niche variation among demographic
groups (juvenile, adult male, adult female). We found that isotopic composition of C. longicollis varied along the habitat gradient, with δ15N levels highest in suburban environments, intermediate in rural areas, and lowest in the nature reserve. δ13C values were higher
in suburb and rural turtles compared to those on the nature reserve. Besides some intraspecific differences in δ13C as evidence of demographic partitioning of the foraging niche, demographic groups apparently feed on the same trophic level within habitats. Our study included samples
from small juveniles (<10 cm) and helped to cover a gap of understanding in intraspecific niche for C. longicollis. Future research should evaluate the reasons turtles in suburban areas are enriched in δ 15N, either because they are foraging on different trophic levels or because
they are feeding on prey enriched in nitrogen.
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Keywords: DIET; GENERALIST SPECIES; INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION; ISOTOPIC ECOLOGY; NITROGEN
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: October 1, 2016
- The Herpetological Journal is an international scientific journal that publishes papers on the natural history of amphibians and reptiles. Experimental, observational and theoretical studies are published along with reviews and book reviews. Faunistic lists, letters and results of general surveys are not published unless they shed light on herpetological problems of wider significance.
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