|Kelton W. McMahon, Li Ling Hamady, Simon R. Thorrold, Ocean Ecogeochemistry - A review, Oceanography and Marine Biology - An Annual Review, 51:327-374, 2013|
Animal movements and the acquisition and allocation of resources provide mechanisms for individual behavioural traits to propagate through population, community and ecosystem levels of biological organization. Recent developments in analytical geochemistry have provided ecologists with new opportunities to examine movements and trophic dynamics and their subsequent influence on the structure and functioning of animal communities. We refer to this approach as ecogeochemistry—the application of geochemical techniques to fundamental questions in population and community ecology. We used meta-analyses of published data to construct δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, δ18O and Δ14C isoscapes throughout the world’s oceans. These maps reveal substantial spatial variability in stable isotope values on regional and ocean-basin scales. We summarize distributions of dissolved metals commonly assayed in the calcified tissues of marine animals. Finally, we review stable isotope analysis (SIA) of amino acids and fatty acids. These analyses overcome many of the problems that prevent bulk SIA from providing sufficient geographic or trophic resolution in marine applications. We expect that ecologists will increasingly use ecogeochemistry approaches to estimate animal movements and trace nutrient pathways in ocean food webs. These studies will, in turn, help provide the scientific underpinning for ecosystem-based management strategies in marine environments.