Isotopic signatures (13C/12C; 15N/14N) of blue penguin burrow soil invertebrates: carbon sources and trophic relationships

Abstract

Seabird burrows provide a soil environment for processing discards such as feathers and guano, hence constituting a primary interface between the sea and the land. This study involved collection and culturing of soil invertebrates from three blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) burrows, and examined their 13C/12C and 15N/14N isotopic composition in relation to potential burrow resources (terrestrial plant litter, burrow soil, guano, blue penguin feathers). Two taxa (cerylonid beetles and small tineid moth larvae) had a depleted 13C/12C indicative of a level of dependence on C from terrestrial soil. Tineid moth larvae (Monopis crocicapitella and (or) M. ethelella) substantially increased their 13C/12C enrichment during development, implying increasing dependence on marine C. Remaining taxa, both decomposers and predators, had 13C/12C intermediate between guano and feathers. Larval and emergent fleas had the most enriched 13C/12C, indicative of a greater dependence on feather C and the likelihood of co-processing with guano. Pseudoscorpions and histerid beetles had overlapping isotopic enrichments implying competition for prey, but were spatially separated in burrow soil. With their highly enriched 15N/14N and marine 13C/12C, larvae and protonymphs of the histiostomatid mite Myianoetus antipodus stood alone. Blue penguin burrows therefore support a diverse invertebrate fauna that incorporates terrestrial soil as well as varying proportions of the various blue penguin discards.