Freezing and chemical preservatives alter the stable isotope values of carbon and nitrogen of the Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea)

Type Article
Date 2011-01
Language English
Author(s) Syvaeranta Jari1, 3, Martino Aurelia1, Kopp DorotheeORCID1, 2, Cereghino Regis1, Santoul Frederic1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Toulouse, UMR CNRS UPS INPT 5245, EcoLab, F-31062 Toulouse 9, France.
2 : Equipe Ecol & Modeles Halieut, IFREMER, F-44311 Nantes, France.
3 : Leibniz Inst Freshwater Ecol & Inland Fisheries, Dept Biol & Ecol Fishes, D-12561 Berlin, Germany.
Source Hydrobiologia (0018-8158) (Springer), 2011-01 , Vol. 658 , N. 1 , P. 383-388
DOI 10.1007/s10750-010-0512-4
WOS© Times Cited 36
Keyword(s) Formalin, Freezing, Ethanol, Preservation, Stable isotope analysis
Abstract We tested the impacts of most common sample preservation methods used for aquatic sample materials on the stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in clams, a typical baseline indicator organism for many aquatic food web studies utilising stable isotope analysis (SIA). In addition to common chemical preservatives ethanol and formalin, we also assessed the potential impacts of freezing on delta C-13 and delta N-15 values and compared the preserved samples against freshly dried and analysed samples. All preservation methods, including freezing, had significant impacts on delta C-13 and delta N-15 values and the effects in general were greater on the carbon isotope values (1.3-2.2aEuro degrees difference) than on the nitrogen isotope values (0.9-1.0aEuro degrees difference). However, the impacts produced by the preservation were rather consistent within each method during the whole 1 year experiment allowing these to be accounted for, if clams are intended for use in retrospective stable isotope studies.
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