Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31967988›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes.

Maricela Juárez-Rodríguez, Gisela Heckel, Juan Carlos Herguera-García, Fernando R Elorriaga-Verplancken, Sharon Z Herzka, Yolanda Schramm

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Maricela Juárez-RodríguezDepartamento de Biología de la Conservación, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, México.
Gisela HeckelDepartamento de Biología de la Conservación, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, México.ORCID 0000-0002-6003-7898
Juan Carlos Herguera-GarcíaDepartamento de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, México.ORCID 0000-0001-8335-2607
Fernando R Elorriaga-VerplanckenInstituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Departamento de Pesquerías y Biología Marina, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México.
Sharon Z HerzkaDepartamento de Oceanografía Biológica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, México.
Yolanda SchrammFacultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, México.
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada · MX

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is limited information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) colonies. While scat analysis has been used to determine the diet of some colonies, the integrative characterization of its feeding habits on broader temporal and spatial scales remains limited. We examined potential feeding grounds, trophic niche width, and overlap, and inferred the degree of dietary specialization using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in this subspecies. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N on fur samples from pups collected at five sites along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Fur of natal coat of Pacific harbor seal pups begins to grow during the seventh month in utero until the last stage of gestation. Therefore pup fur is a good proxy for the mother's feeding habits in winter (~December to March), based on the timing of gestation for the subspecies in this region. Our results indicated that the δ13C and δ15N values differed significantly among sampling sites, with the highest mean δ15N value occurring at the southernmost site, reflecting a well-characterized north to south latitudinal 15N-enrichment in the food web. The tendency identified in δ13C values, in which the northern colonies showed the most enriched values, suggests nearshore and benthic-demersal feeding habits. A low variance in δ13C and δ15N values for each colony (<1‰) and relatively small standard ellipse areas suggest a specialized foraging behavior in adult female Pacific harbor seals in Mexican waters.

Indexed as

Food ChainPhocaAnimalsCarbon IsotopesDietMexicoNitrogen IsotopesCarbon IsotopesNitrogen Isotopes

Identifiers

PMID31967988
PMCPMC6975529
OpenAlexW3002417260

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.