Christian C Voigt, Oliver Lindecke, Sandra Iurino, Ana G Popa-Lisseanu, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Gunars Pētersons, David X Soto
{"title":"Northern movements of European Nathusius' pipistrelle bats (<i>Pipistrellus nathusii</i>) before autumn migration.","authors":"Christian C Voigt, Oliver Lindecke, Sandra Iurino, Ana G Popa-Lisseanu, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Gunars Pētersons, David X Soto","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2736192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2736192","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite decades of protecting migrating animals by international treaties, conservation efforts are severely hampered by our limited understanding of large-scale seasonal movements, particularly in cryptic migratory animals like bats. Banding data from a field site on the Latvian coast of the Baltic Sea suggests that some European Nathusius' bats (<i>Pipistrellus nathusii</i>) move > 2000 km to their wintering range in Spain and France. As the banded bats were trapped <i>en route</i>, their summer origins remain unknown. Here, we used a stable hydrogen isotope approach to track the provenance of almost 700 <i>P. nathusii</i> moving southwards along the Latvian coast during three consecutive years. In general, <i>P. nathusii</i> originated from a large catchment area, with some geographic variation between years. About a quarter of all individuals came from areas south of Latvia, including northern Ukraine and neighbouring countries. This is consistent with the stable carbon isotope data, suggesting a summer origin south of the site for some of the captured bats. Our findings are in line with recent insights into the migratory orientation of temperate zone bats, with some individuals moving northwards before continuing to their southern wintering range. In conclusion, the migration of <i>P. nathusii</i>, and potentially also those of other temperate zone bats, may be more complex than previously anticipated.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A dual role of precipitation amount and temperature determines precipitation isotopic trends in Southeast Alaska.","authors":"Paul Wilcox, Anna Harris, Christian DeCelle","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2741172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2741172","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Southeast Alaska is one of the wettest places in the world, with some locations within the region receiving upwards of 6 metres of precipitation annually. Given the region's abundant precipitation, it is important to understand the mechanisms controlling the hydrologic cycle to better constrain past and future trends in climate. Accomplishing this requires the evaluation of isotopes in precipitation, as this is key to untangling the many drivers of the water cycle. However, there has never been a precipitation isotope study conducted in Southeast Alaska, vastly limiting our understanding of the water cycle in this region. To fill this gap, we report the first precipitation isotope results from Southeast Alaska, composed of monthly samples spanning 1 year between September 2023 and August 2024, thereby establishing an important regional baseline. We find that variations in temperature and precipitation amount during both a yearly and seasonal scale strongly influence the precipitation isotopic trends in the region, with the strength of the Aleutian Low a key factor in modulating precipitation isotopic trends.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149164884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
John B Hopkins Iii, Jake Ferguson, Collin Sauter, Katherine Rock, Yiyang Wang, Peggy Callahan, Megan Callahan-Beckel, James Moran
{"title":"Laser ablation carbon stable isotope analysis of bear hair to reconstruct dietary timelines.","authors":"John B Hopkins Iii, Jake Ferguson, Collin Sauter, Katherine Rock, Yiyang Wang, Peggy Callahan, Megan Callahan-Beckel, James Moran","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2738973","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2738973","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding fine-scale diet shifts in free-ranging wildlife remains challenging because high-resolution diet data are typically costly, invasive, or difficult to collect through time. Our objective was to determine whether <i>δ</i>¹³C laser ablation-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-IRMS) of hair could be used to detect the timing and direction of known diet switches among isotopically distinct foods fed to American black bears (<i>Ursus americanus</i>). We measured spatially resolved <i>δ</i>¹³C values at ∼200-µm intervals along individual hairs from two captive bears fed controlled diets of corn, white-tailed deer, and trail mix. We converted tip-to-root positions along hairs to time using estimated hair growth rates of 0.72 ± 0.34 mm/day for bear 1 and 0.55 ± 0.17 mm/day for bear 2. We found that changes in hair <i>δ</i>¹³C were as expected, corresponding closely with known diet switches. Across both trials and bears, <i>δ</i>¹³C increased during corn feeding and declined during deer and trail-mix treatments. The isotopic profiles for bears in this study provide proof of concept that <i>δ</i>¹³C LA-IRMS can detect multi-day diet switches from a single hair when the foods are isotopically distinct.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149109798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hamed Alnagran, Israa M Hassan, Sardar Q Othman, Taufiq Ahamad, Laith Ahmed Najam, M I Sayyed, Berivan F Namq, Milena P Živković, Howaida Mansour, Zakariya Yaha Algamal, Taha Yaseen Wais
{"title":"Soil radon and associated radiological risk indicators: a spatial and multivariate investigation in the Shaqlawa District, Iraqi Kurdistan.","authors":"Hamed Alnagran, Israa M Hassan, Sardar Q Othman, Taufiq Ahamad, Laith Ahmed Najam, M I Sayyed, Berivan F Namq, Milena P Živković, Howaida Mansour, Zakariya Yaha Algamal, Taha Yaseen Wais","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2736751","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2736751","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, concentrations of radon in soil and the corresponding radiological health effects have been assessed in the Shaqlawa District, Erbil Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan. Soil samples were taken across urban, suburban and agricultural areas at 25 locations. Radon concentrations were determined using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors. Results showed <sup>222</sup>Rn concentrations from 39.5 to 95.4 Bq m<sup>-3</sup> and an average of 68.0 Bq m<sup>-3</sup>. The average value of potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC) and annual effective dose (AED) was 11.03 mWL and 0.64 mSv y<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. ELCR ranged from 1.3 × 10<sup>-3</sup> to 3.15 × 10<sup>-3</sup> and with a mean value of 2.25 × 10<sup>-3</sup>. Dose estimates to organs showed a maximum mean exposure to the testes (0.41 mSv y<sup>-1</sup>) and bone marrow (0.35 mSv y<sup>-1</sup>), while the mean liver dose was minimal (0.24 mSv y<sup>-1</sup>). Most radon and radiological indices showed a near-normal distribution according to the statistical analyses, and radon concentration was significantly and positively correlated (r > 0.8) with hazard parameters. Kriging spatial mapping identified these high-radon areas related to fractured-calcerous lithologies, mainly the Shiransh-Aqrah-Bakhmah and Tayjru-Shiransh formations. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed low, moderate and high radon clusters, which demonstrated that local variability exists and seems to be related to geology. These results provide an updated overview of soil radon levels and the expected health risks in the specific area of Shaqlawa, which is important baseline data to support better monitoring of environmental radiation, as well as planning for the health sector in this part of the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149074783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I Mattos, Juliana F Ribeiro, Bárbara Zimbres, Gabriela B Nardoto, Jader Marinho-Filho
{"title":"Fine-scale habitat quality drives isotopic niche variation in a didelphid opossum in fragmented semideciduous dry forests of central Brazil.","authors":"I Mattos, Juliana F Ribeiro, Bárbara Zimbres, Gabriela B Nardoto, Jader Marinho-Filho","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2728770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2728770","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation on animal trophic ecology have traditionally emphasised patch size or habitat loss, while the role of habitat quality has been comparatively overlooked. We investigated how habitat quality - assessed through as fine-scale variation of forest structure and food resource availability within patches - alongside patch attributes and landscape configuration, shapes the isotopic niche of the opossum <i>Gracilinanus agilis</i> in fragmented semideciduous dry forests of the central Brazilian Cerrado. Using a multiscale approach, we investigated the trophic responses of the species to environmental variation across 36 forest patches during two field campaigns conducted in 2018. Small mammals were live-trapped, habitat quality descriptors were quantified, and patch- and landscape-scale metrics (1-km buffer) were measured. Isotopic niche metrics were estimated from <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N values obtained from hair samples. Regression analyses showed that variation in <i>δ</i>¹⁵N range (NR) increased with patch core area, indicating a broader range of trophic levels in larger and better-preserved patches. At the habitat-quality scale, the evenness of niche packing (SDNND) decreased with increasing vine abundance, suggesting that preferential understory use in more degraded forests may increase microhabitat overlap among individuals and leads to a more homogeneous trophic structure in isotopic space, with individuals more evenly packed within a narrower isotopic niche. SDNND also declined with higher termite abundance, indicating increased isotopic similarity among individuals as this resource became more intensively exploited. At the patch scale, SDNND increased with patch core area, suggesting greater trophic differentiation among individuals in larger patches with more pristine vegetation. Overall, trophic responses varied across spatial scales, with patch characteristics and habitat quality exerting stronger effects than landscape-level structure. Our findings highlight the importance of fine-scale environmental conditions in shaping the trophic niche structure and reinforce the need to incorporate habitat quality into fragmentation research.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148976739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soad S Fares, Ahmed H Korna, Badria Alshahrani, Ahmed H Ali
{"title":"Activity concentration and radon exhalation rate in Nile River sediments: evaluation of radiological hazard using gamma spectrometry and CR-39 detectors.","authors":"Soad S Fares, Ahmed H Korna, Badria Alshahrani, Ahmed H Ali","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2666312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2666312","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study assessed the radiological hazard associated with sediment and silt samples collected from the Nile River. The results consistently demonstrated low levels of natural radioactivity. Calculated dose parameters were found to be well within international safety limits. The average outdoor annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE<sub>out</sub>) was 50 µSv/y for sediments and 60 µSv/y for silt. Similarly, the average indoor AEDE (AEDE<sub>in</sub>) values were 280 and 350 µSv/y, respectively, remaining significantly below the worldwide limit of 450 µSv/y. Long-term risk assessment further supported these findings, with the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) averaging 0.28 mSv/y for sediments and 0.36 mSv/y for silt. Finally, the calculated excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) remained low, at 1.15 × 10<sup>-3</sup> for sediments and 1.44 × 10<sup>-3</sup> for silt. The average radon concentrations in soil were 7.17 Bq/m<sup>3</sup> for sediment and 5.65 Bq/m<sup>3</sup> for silt. In conclusion, all measured activity concentrations and derived radiological risk factors confirm that the Nile River sediment and silt samples pose no significant radiological hazard to the public.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148897349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Grace Yee, Travis Ingram, Tim Jowett, Priscilla Wehi
{"title":"Dietary niche partitioning and seasonal variation between rat species on an oceanic island.","authors":"Grace Yee, Travis Ingram, Tim Jowett, Priscilla Wehi","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2722636","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2722636","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>On oceanic islands, invasive rats represent a significant threat to native species, especially seabirds. However, we do not yet fully understand the ecological impacts of rats or how their dietary niches are affected when more than one rat species is present. Our aim was to examine kiore (<i>Rattus exulans</i>) and ship rat (<i>R. rattus</i>) isotopic niche overlap on Chatham Island, and to determine the threat they might pose to at-risk or threatened native bird species, including endemic species such as the parea (<i>Hemiphaga chathamensis</i>), and an endangered ground-nesting seabird, the tāiko (<i>Pterodroma magenta</i>), in the island's only large remaining tract of forest. Liver stable isotope analysis (<i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N) for kiore and ship rats showed some segregation between species in isotopic niche space. Generally, there was low overlap of hypervolumes defined by diet proportions between species, but some seasonal variation in the degree of overlap, and differences between kiore and ship rat niche size that likely facilitate coexistence. Mixing models indicated that birds, but probably not tāiko, were dominant food sources for both species. Proportions of parea and passerines varied across seasons, while invertebrates and plants were also represented. The occurrence of birds in the diet of both rats may be due to either direct predation or scavenging. The results suggest that, as expected, rat control is a critical element of native species management in this remaining forest, most likely acting to protect small forest birds and endemic species like parea, although it remains unclear whether rats are directly impacting endangered populations of ground-nesting birds.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-24"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148880432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefan Gerd Bindereif, Christopher Porkert, Gerhard Gebauer
{"title":"Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope abundance analysis of barley malt and its potential to trace the malting location.","authors":"Stefan Gerd Bindereif, Christopher Porkert, Gerhard Gebauer","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2721629","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2721629","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The complexity of global food supply chains has driven demand for analytical tools that support traceability assessments beyond traditional documentation and routine quality control, as increasingly required by food safety standards. This also applies to the brewing industry, where important processing steps such as malting are often outsourced to third parties. To ensure full process transparency, breweries currently lack analytical solutions to verify that the barley supplied for malting was processed at the specified malthouse. In this study, stable hydrogen (<i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H) and oxygen (<i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O) isotope abundance analysis was applied to assess whether malting introduces location-related isotope signatures that could support origin verification. Thirty-four barley samples were analysed as raw barley and after parallel malting at two geographically separated German malthouses in Berlin and Munich using high-temperature conversion isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, resulting in three samples per barley lot and a total of 102 samples. Malting resulted in significant enrichments of both <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H and <i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O values relative to the corresponding unmalted barley, indicating systematic isotopic fractionation during the malting process. In addition, malt samples produced at the two malthouses exhibited small but significant differences in hydrogen and oxygen isotope composition. The direction of these differences is consistent with regional patterns in precipitation isotope ratios and corresponding local brewing water sources. This study provides an analytical basis indicating that hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in malt reflect malting-location-related process information. When evaluated relative to supplied barley reference material, this approach can support plausibility-based malt traceability and could complement documentation-based verification.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148818448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Scott H Walters, Christopher G Guglielmo, Mark C Drever, Scott A Flemming, Mark Maftei, Keith A Hobson
{"title":"Western Sandpiper (<i>Calidris mauri</i>) use of intertidal biofilm in freshwater and marine influenced mudflats during migratory stopover.","authors":"Scott H Walters, Christopher G Guglielmo, Mark C Drever, Scott A Flemming, Mark Maftei, Keith A Hobson","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2708365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2708365","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Migrating Western Sandpipers (<i>Calidris mauri</i>) often stop to refuel at mudflats where intertidal biofilm forms a major component of their diet. Western Sandpipers may increase intake of this food source at sites where biofilm diatoms are high in Omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), which have been hypothesized to improve shorebird physiological condition and migration performance. At mudflats in the Fraser River Delta (FRD) of British Columbia (BC), Canada, outflowing freshwater from the spring snowmelt is believed to induce n-3 LC-PUFA proliferation in biofilm diatoms, potentially making this refuelling site a distinctly important source of intertidal biofilm. We used Bayesian mixing models to analyse <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N of Western Sandpiper blood plasma to compare biofilm consumption at FRD areas to another highly frequented stopover site, the relatively marine-influenced <i>Wah-nah-jus Hilth-hoo-is</i> mudflat system at Tofino, BC. While past studies have estimated biofilm as a significant portion of Western Sandpiper diet in the FRD, the assumption that this refuelling area provides a distinct advantage had not been tested by comparing proportional dietary estimates of biofilm at the FRD to other stopover mudflat systems. Our results confirm the assumption that biofilm consumption during the northward, pre-breeding migration at the FRD (∼31 % of diet) is greater than at another commonly used refuelling location (Tofino, BC; ∼16 % of diet). Seasonal effects were also measured between migratory periods, revealing an apparent, but insignificant, decrease in biofilm consumption at the FRD during post-breeding migration. Biofilm consumption appeared to be marginally higher in juveniles (i.e. hatch-year) than in adults (i.e. after-hatch-year) at the FRD but not at Tofino, and no significant differences were detected by sex class at either mudflat system. These findings can inform land use decisions that may impact essential shorebird habitat, particularly at the Roberts Bank mudflat area of the FRD.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-31"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148793189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seth D Newsome, Emma A Elliott Smith, Christy J Mancuso, Drew N Fowler, Keith A Hobson
{"title":"Exploring the use of amino acid stable hydrogen isotope (<i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H) analysis to improve geographic assignment of wildlife.","authors":"Seth D Newsome, Emma A Elliott Smith, Christy J Mancuso, Drew N Fowler, Keith A Hobson","doi":"10.1080/10256016.2026.2699461","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2026.2699461","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stable isotopes of hydrogen (<i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H) have long been used to trace the movement and geographic origins of wildlife. <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H analysis of individual amino acids (AA) offer a multivariate alternative to bulk tissue analysis, but the geographic resolving power of this approach remains underexplored. Here, we analyzed AA <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H, along with bulk tissue <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H, <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C, and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N values of 32 feathers collected from Canada geese (<i>Branta canadensis</i>) with known molting locations along a latitudinal gradient in the Midwestern United States (34-48 °N). We evaluated isotopic variation among three latitudinally defined geographic groups across this gradient. The <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H values of essential AA showed strong latitudinal separation, with isoleucine, leucine, and valine differing among all pairwise comparisons and exhibiting between-group differences exceeding those observed in bulk feather <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H. In contrast, <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H values of non-essential AA were far more variable within groups and, apart from proline and glutamic acid, did not exhibit significant differences among geographic localities. A bootstrapped flexible discriminant analysis (FDA) incorporating <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H values of five essential AA yielded a mean classification accuracy of 82 %, with misclassification concentrated between adjacent North and Central groups. Including bulk tissue <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C values marginally improved model accuracy (mean 83 %), likely reflecting geographic variation in native or agricultural C<sub>4</sub> plant abundance. An FDA model based only on non-essential AA <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H values performed poorly (mean 59 % accuracy), which contrasts with recent studies on humans in which non-essential AA <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H values were better predictors of region of origin. We suggest this discrepancy reflects differences in food sourcing; barring carry-over effects, wildlife primarily incorporate locally derived essential AA whereas human (supermarket) diets often integrate protein sources across continental spatial scales. Our results indicate that essential AA exhibit clear latitudinal structure in <i>δ</i>²H values and hence these analyses offer strong potential for geographic assignment of migratory birds.</p>","PeriodicalId":14597,"journal":{"name":"Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148712500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}