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Chapter Three - Empirically characterising trophic networks: what emerging DNA-based methods, stable isotope and fatty acid analyses can offer
- Source :
- Advances in Ecological Research, Advances in Ecological Research, 49, Elsevier, pp.177-224, 2013, Advances In Ecological Research, ⟨10.1016/B978-0-12-420002-9.00003-2⟩, Advances in Ecological Research, Elsevier, 2013, 49, pp.177-224. ⟨10.1016/B978-0-12-420002-9.00003-2⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2013.
-
Abstract
- International audience; Food webs in agricultural systems are complex and trophic linkages are difficult to track using conventional methodologies. Here, we review three alternative approaches that allow empirical assessment of feeding interactions: DNA-based techniques, and stable isotope and fatty acid analyses. DNA-based methods, namely multiplex PCR and nextgeneration sequencing, allow identification of food types and host-parasitoid linkages, resulting in taxonomically highly resolved feeding networks. Stable isotopes and fatty acids reflect the assimilation of broader categories of resources, as metabolised into the consumers' tissue, together with the associated energy and nutrient fluxes in the food web. We discuss the strengths of the approaches but also highlight their limitations, providing practical advice on which technique is best suited to answer specific questions in examining food web interactions in agroecosystems. Future refinements of these techniques, especially when used in combination, could herald a new era in agricultural food web ecology, enabling management and environmental impact to be placed in the mechanistic context of trophic networks.
- Subjects :
- [SDE]Environmental Sciences
GUT-CONTENT-ANALYSIS, POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION, INVERTEBRATE GENERALIST PREDATORS, ECO-EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS, COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, EUROPEAN CORN-BORER, FOOD-WEB STRUCTURE, PREY DNA, MOLECULAR MARKERS, MULTIPLEX PCR, carnivory, herbivory, food identification, trophic level, nutrient flow
parasitoidism, molecular diagnostics, diet assessment
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00652504 and 2163582X
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Advances in Ecological Research, Advances in Ecological Research, 49, Elsevier, pp.177-224, 2013, Advances In Ecological Research, ⟨10.1016/B978-0-12-420002-9.00003-2⟩, Advances in Ecological Research, Elsevier, 2013, 49, pp.177-224. ⟨10.1016/B978-0-12-420002-9.00003-2⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.dedup.wf.001..1ccbf6559ac9f5cd97ddf3cc1140a1fb