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

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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 δ13C and δ15N values and compared the preserved samples against freshly dried and analysed samples. All preservation methods, including freezing, had significant impacts on δ13C and δ15N values and the effects in general were greater on the carbon isotope values (1.3–2.2‰ difference) than on the nitrogen isotope values (0.9–1.0‰ 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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Acknowledgments

JS was supported by the CNRS and the IGB post-doctoral fellowships and DK by the Region Midi-Pyrénées post-doctoral fellowship. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on an earlier version of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EcoLab, UMR 5245 (CNRS-UPS-INPT), Université de Toulouse, bât 4R3, 118, route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse Cedex 9, France

    Jari Syväranta, Aurélia Martino, Dorothée Kopp, Régis Céréghino & Frédéric Santoul

  2. IFREMER, Equipe Ecologie et Modèles pour l’Halieutique, Rue de l’Ile d’Yeu, BP 21105, 44311, Nantes Cedex 3, France

    Dorothée Kopp

  3. Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12561, Berlin, Germany

    Jari Syväranta

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  1. Jari Syväranta
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  2. Aurélia Martino
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  3. Dorothée Kopp
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  4. Régis Céréghino
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  5. Frédéric Santoul
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Correspondence to Jari Syväranta.

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Handling editor: M. Power

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Syväranta, J., Martino, A., Kopp, D. et al. Freezing and chemical preservatives alter the stable isotope values of carbon and nitrogen of the Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea). Hydrobiologia 658, 383–388 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0512-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0512-4

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