Abstract
Stable isotopes represent a unique approach to provide insights into the ecology of organisms. δ(13)C and δ(15)N have specifically been used to obtain information on the trophic ecology and food-web interactions. Trophic discrimination factors (TDF, Δ(13)C and Δ(15)N) describe the isotopic fractionation occurring from diet to consumer tissue, and these factors are critical for obtaining precise estimates within any application of δ(13)C and δ(15)N values. It is widely acknowledged that metabolism influences TDF, being responsible for different TDF between tissues of variable metabolic activity (e.g., liver vs. muscle tissue) or species body size (small vs. large). However, the connection between the variation of metabolism occurring within a single species during its ontogeny and TDF has rarely been considered.Here, we conducted a 9-month feeding experiment to report Δ(13)C and Δ(15)N of muscle and liver tissues for several weight classes of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), a widespread teleost often studied using stable isotopes, but without established TDF for feeding on a natural diet. In addition, we assessed the relationship between the standard metabolic rate (SMR) and TDF by measuring the oxygen consumption of the individuals.Our results showed a significant negative relationship of SMR with Δ(13)C, and a significant positive relationship of SMR with Δ(15)N of muscle tissue, but not with TDF of liver tissue. SMR varies inversely with size, which translated into a significantly different TDF of muscle tissue between size classes.In summary, our results emphasize the role of metabolism in shaping-specific TDF (i.e., Δ(13)C and Δ(15)N of muscle tissue) and especially highlight the substantial differences between individuals of different ontogenetic stages within a species. Our findings thus have direct implications for the use of stable isotope data and the applications of stable isotopes in food-web studies.