Disentangling effects of growth and nutritional status on seabird stable isotope ratios

A growing number of studies suggest that an individual’s physiology affects its carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures, obscuring a signal often assumed to be only a reflection of diet and foraging location. We examined effects of growth and moderate food restriction on red blood cell (RBC) and feather δ15N and δ13C in rhinoceros auklet chicks (Cerorhinca monocerata), a piscivorous seabird. Chicks were reared in captivity and fed either...