Zooplankton plays a mediating role in the food web of aquatic ecosystems, the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) of which have been widely used to study the utilization of food resources, material cycling pathways, and trophic relationships. The δ13C and δ15N values of zooplankton have been used to predict primary productivity, sources and sinks of pollutants and environmental changes. To better use δ13C and δ15N of zooplankton as ecological and environmental indicators, it is particularly important to understand their temporal and spatial variations and the influencing factors. Based on related literature, we synthesized spatial and temporal variations in δ13C and δ15N of zooplankton in different aquatic ecosystems and taxa groups, and the use of δ13C and δ15N indicators for ecological processes and environmental changes. The δ13C and δ15N of zooplankton are largely affected by its food sources, and its stable isotope compositions are in turn affected by primary productivity and nitrogen sources. We proposed that the combination of δ13C and δ15N in zooplankton with transportation and transformation of emerging pollutants would form a multi-means, multi-disciplinary and multi-scale research direction in the fields of earth science and biology.
浮游动物在水域生态系统食物网中起着承上启下的作用,其稳定碳、氮同位素(δ13C、δ15N)被广泛用于研究对食物资源的利用,揭示物质循环路径及与其他生物之间的营养关系等.浮游动物的稳定同位素也常用于解释初级生产力,判断水体污染物和环境变化过程.明确浮游动物稳定同位素组成的时空变化及影响因子,对于以其稳定同位素组成作为研究水生态系统生态过程和环境变化的指示物尤为重要.本综述基于国内外学者对水生态系统中浮游动物δ13C、δ15N特征及其应用的研究成果,梳理了浮游动物δ13C 和δ15N在不同类型水体、不同类群及时空变化的差异:浮游动物δ13C和δ15N时空变化则主要受食物来源及其同位素组成的影响,后者又受到初级生产力和氮源及水体物理化学性质等因素的影响.未来,浮游动物稳定同位素技术通过与新兴污染物、新兴技术及统计分析方法结合,将在地学、生物学等领域形成多手段、多学科、多尺度的研究方向.
Keywords: aquatic ecosystem; food web; primary productivity; stable isotope; zooplankton.