Stable isotopes have become a popular method for understanding aquatic ecosystems because they can help scientists in understanding source links and process information in marine food webs. These analyses can also be used to a certain degree in terrestrial systems. Certain isotopes can signify distinct primary producers forming the bases of food webs and trophic level positioning. The stable isotope compositions are expressed in terms of delta values (δ) in permil (‰), i.e. parts per thousand differences from a standard. They express the proportion of an isotope that is in a sample. The values are expressed as:
: δX = [(R / R) – 1] × 10
where X represents the isotope of interest (e.g., C) and R represents the ratio of the isotope of interest and its natural form (e.g., C/C). Higher (or less negative) delta values indicate increases in a samples isotope of interest, relative to the standard, and lower (or more negative) values indicate decreases. The standard reference materials for carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur are Pee Dee Belamnite limestone, nitrogen gas in the atmosphere, and Cañon Diablo meteorite respectively. Analysis is usually done using a mass spectrometer, detecting small differences between gaseous elements. Analysis of a sample can cost anywhere from $30 to $100. Stable isotopes assist scientists in analyzing animal diets and food webs by examining the animal tissues that bear a fixed isotopic enrichment or depletion vs. the diet. Muscle or protein fractions have become the most common animal tissue used to examine the isotopes because they represent the assimilated nutrients in their diet. The main advantage to using stable isotope analysis as opposed to stomach content observations is that no matter what the status is of the animals stomach (empty or not), the isotope tracers in the tissues will give us an understanding of its trophic position and food source. The three major isotopes used in aquatic ecosystem food web analysis are C, N and S. While all three indicate information on trophic dynamics, it is common to perform analysis on at least two of the previously mentioned 3 isotopes for better understanding of marine trophic interactions and for stronger results.