A paper by lecturers Jacob González-Solís and Raül Ramos, from the Department of Animal Biology at the UB and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the UB (IRBio), has appeared at the front page of the high-impact scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

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The paper, entitled “Trace me if you can: the use of intrinsic biogeochemical markers in marine top predators”, deals with the increasingly important impact of the human activities on marine top predators. The authors analyse the use of intrinsic biogeochemical markers, such as stable isotopes, fatty acids, trace elements and chemical pollutants, among others, to trace the spatial and trophic ecology of marine top predators (seabirds, marine mammals, fish, etc.), which can travel thousands of kilometres each year. Deciphering the diet and major migratory movements

An intrinsic biogeochemical marker is, according to González-Solís, a tracer, that is, “a chemical that is incorporated in animal tissues, mainly through the consumption of food, in a predictable way, such as some stable isotopes, trace elements, lipids and even contaminants. All these substances leave a chemical fingerprint in biological tissues. In this sense, all of them can be used to trace the trophic ecology and migratory movements of marine organisms over space and time”.

The various aspects of animal ecology are usually studied using samples of diet or placing devices to track movement in animals, such as satellite transmitters. Biogeochemical markers, by contrast, may not provide taxonomic detail or geographic accuracy, but tracers are not hampered by biases and constraints of the conventional approaches. Other advantages are that analyses of tracers can be conducted on any species, subsequent animal recovery is not required and results provide information about movements and past locations, as well as insights into the animals’ diet in previous areas.

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