Isotope fractionation Isotope fractionation Isotope fractionation describes processes that affect the relative abundance of isotopes, often used in isotope geochemistry. Normally, the focus is on stable isotopes of the same element. Isotopic fractionation in the natural environment can be measured by isotope analysis, using isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, to separate different element isotopes on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio, an important tool to understand natural systems. For example, in biochemistry processes cause a fluctuation in the amount of isotopes of carbon ratios incorporated into a biological being. The difference between the true amount of carbon and the amount in the plant is
Standard weight in fish relationships representing a species across its range are used. As fish grow in length, they increase in weight. The relationship between weight and length is not linear. The relationship between length ("L") and weight ("W") can be expressed as: When the equation is for standard weight, the standard weight for a given length is written as W. The exponent "b" is close to 3.0 for most species. The coefficient "a" varies between species. If the exponent "b" is greater than three for a certain fish species, that species tends to become relatively fatter or have more girth as it grows