Stable isotope composition of land snail body water and its relation to environmental waters and shell carbonate

Abstract

Day-to-day and within-day (diel) variations in δD and δ 18 O of the body water of the land snail, Theba pisana, were studied at a site in the southern coastal plain of Israel. Three phases of variation, which relate to isotopic changes in atmospheric water vapor, were distinguished: 1) on rain days, snail water becomes isotopically depleted approximately in the direction of the rain isotope values, but always less depleted in D as is atmospheric water vapor; 2) during the 1–3 days following a rain, the snail water becomes isotopically enriched along a line with slope < 8, in δD vs. δ 18 O space (this relates to an increasing influence of humidity derived from the Mediterranean Sea); 3) a period of relative stability of the isotopic composition persists until the next rain event. The isotopic variations can be explained by isotopic equilibration with atmospheric water vapor and/or uptake of dew derived therefrom. During the winter, when the snails are active, there is only very minor enrichment in 18O relative to equilibrium with water vapor or dew, apparently as a result of metabolic activity. But this enrichment becomes pronounced after long periods of inactivity. Within-day variation in body water isotopic composition is minor on non-rain days. Shell carbonate is enriched in 18O by ca. 1–2%. relative to equilibrium with body water. In most regions, the isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor (or dew) is a direct function of that of rain. Because the isotopic composition of snail body water is related to that of atmospheric water vapor and the isotopic composition of shell carbonate in turn is related to that of body water, land snail shell carbonate 18O should provide a reliable indication of rainfall 18O. However, local environmental conditions and the ecological properties of the snail species must be taken into account.