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Mention the word 'isotopes' and most people will think of short-lived radioactive isotopes. Yet far more abundant than the radioactive forms and perhaps much more useful for ecological studies are the stable isotopes. Early interest in stable isotope analyses developed in the geological sciences, and their application in environmental biology has developed slowly until recently. Over the past few years, innovative applications of stable isotope analyses to studies of biological processes have been expanding rapidly, and there is every indication that stable isotope approaches will lead to major advances over the next decade in our understanding of physiological processes and fluxes through ecological systems. Studies of plant and animal physiological ecology and food webs will benefit greatly., (Copyright © 1986. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)