Characteristics of stable isotope signature of diet in tissues of captive Japanese macaques as revealed by controlled feeding

• Published in: Primates Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 271 - 281
• Main Authors: Nakashita, Rumiko, Hamada, Yuzuru, Hirasaki, Eishi, Suzuki, Juri, Oi, Toru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.07.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal Ecology; Animals; Behavioral biology; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood cells; Carbon Isotopes - blood; Carbon Isotopes - metabolism; Diet; Erythrocytes; Evolutionary Biology; Feeding; Fractionation; Hair; Hair - chemistry; Isotope fractionation; Isotope ratios; Isotopes; Life Sciences; Macaca; Macaca - physiology; Macaca fuscata; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Monkeys & apes; Nitrogen Isotopes - blood; Nitrogen Isotopes - metabolism; Original Article; Primates; Stable isotopes; Tissues; Zoology; Hair; Stable isotope; Enrichment factor; Feeding habit; Blood
• ISSN: 0032-8332; 1610-7365; 1610-7365
• DOI: 10.1007/s10329-013-0346-6

We determined the magnitude of isotopic fractionation of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (as enrichment factors, Δδ 13 C and Δδ 15 N, respectively) between the tissues and diets of captive Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ) using a controlled feeding experiment, to provide basic data for reconstructing their feeding habits. The Δδ 13 C and Δδ 15 N values, respectively, were 0.9 ± 0.2 ‰ (mean ± standard deviation, SD) and 3.0 ± 0.3 ‰ for whole blood, 1.3 ± 0.2 ‰ and 4.3 ± 0.3 ‰ for plasma, and 0.8 ± 0.2 ‰ and 3.0 ± 0.2 ‰ for red blood cells. However, the Δδ 13 C and Δδ 15 N values for hair were 2.8 ± 0.3 ‰ and 3.4 ± 0.2 ‰, respectively. No difference was detected in the δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of hair sampled from different parts of the body. We investigated the effects of diet on δ 13 C in growing hair by alternating the diet of the macaques each month between two diets that differed markedly in δ 13 C. Hair regrown after shaving repeatedly recorded the δ 13 C of the diet consumed during the time of hair growth. On the other hand, hair naturally grown during the diet-change experiment did not show a clear pattern. One possible reason is that the hair had grown abnormally under unnatural indoor conditions and showed complicated isotope signatures. To reconstruct the long-term feeding history of Japanese macaques, we need to further clarify the relationships between the stable isotope signature of diet and various body tissues.