Fatty acid and stable isotope analysis of snow petrel stomach oil and prey from the southeastern Weddell Sea, collected 2014-2023
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02201
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Summary
Abstract:
Organic geochemical analyses were conducted on fresh stomach oils of snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) and on reference prey species from the southeastern Weddell Sea. Measurements include bulk stable isotopes (d13C and d15N), compound-specific carbon isotopes of fatty acids, and the distribitions of fatty acids and fatty alcohols. A total of 57 stomach oil samples from 48 individual snow petrels were collected at Svarthamaren (-71.89, 5.16) between 26 November 2022 and 16 January 2023. Reference prey samples (n = 15) comprise the notothenioid fish Pleuragramma antarcticum, the myctophid fish Electrona antarctica, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias), and the squid Galiteuthis glacialis. These prey samples were collected during three RV Polarstern expeditions (PS82, PS117, and PS129; 19 December 2013-5 March 2014, 15 December 2018-7 February 2019, and 3 March 2022-28 April 2022, respectively) in the southeastern Weddell Sea. Expedition details are provided in Knust and Schroder (2014), Boebel (2019), and Hoppema (2023). Sampling locations of the reference prey fall within the documented foraging range of snow petrels nesting at Svarthamaren during the 2022-2023 breeding season. The dataset was designed to provide spatially and temporally proximate prey baselines for interpreting dietary signals preserved in fresh stomach oils. These data enable investigation of dietary composition and potential dietary shifts during the breeding season and provide a modern calibration framework for interpreting dietary signals preserved in ancient stomach-oil deposits ('Antarctic mumiyo'). Due to logistical constraints, some prey samples were collected during earlier expeditions rather than concurrently with stomach oil sampling. Although not the primary focus of the study, the prey geochemical dataset may also support research on regional zooplankton and fish ecology in the southeastern Weddell Sea.
Funding was provided by: H2020 European Research Council Consolidator Grant "Antarctic Sea Ice Evolution from a novel biological archive" (ANTSIE, grant no. 864637); The Leverhulme Trust (Philip Leverhulme Research Leadership Award, grant no. RL-2019-023); Helmoltz Assiociation's (HGF) junior research group Iceflux (VH-NG800); Helmoltz Assiociation'''s (HGF) research program Earth and Environment from HGF program-oriented funding (POF) IV.
Keywords:
diet reconstruction, fatty acids, snow petrel, stable isotopes, stomach oil
Citation
Li, Z., McClymont, E.L., Wakefield, E., Grocke, D., Grecian, W.J., Honan, E.M., Flores, H., Woll, M., Strong, K.A., Meheust, M., & West, M.D. (2026). Fatty acid and stable isotope analysis of snow petrel stomach oil and prey from the southeastern Weddell Sea, collected 2014-2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5cff3c25-a3e9-4be8-a1a9-6c5b4e4e406c
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ASSOCIATED DATA SET(S)
- https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.939211
- https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.980519
- https://doi.org/10.5285/3155805f-6d8b-4a27-8dbf-91f2c10a4ba7
- https://doi.org/10.5285/fecd8c1f-81dd-410a-b8e6-7cfec411e4c0
- https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.980570
- https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.982854
REFERENCE MATERIALS
- http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.29.2.500
- https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.7947
- https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9258(18)64849-5
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-025-00609-7
- https://doi.org/10.2312/BzPM_0680_2014
- https://doi.org/10.2312/BzPM_0732_2019
- https://doi.org/10.57738/BzPM_0776_2023
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Constraints
| Access Constraints: | No restrictions apply |
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| Use Constraints: | This data is governed by the NERC data policy (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/) and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). |
Basic Information
| Creation Date: | 2026-05-07 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK PDC |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Zhongxuan Li |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Erin L McClymont |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Ewan Wakefield |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Darren R Grocke |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | W James Grecian |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Eleanor M Honan |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Hauke Flores |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Alfred Wegener Institute |
| Name | Matthias Woll |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Alfred Wegener Institute |
| Name | Kerry A Strong |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Marie Meheust |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Name | Martin D West |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
Additional Information
| Reference: | Li, Z., Wakefield, E., Gröcke, D.R., Grecian, W.J., Flores, H., Honan, E., Woll, M., Strong, K.A., Meheust, M., West, M.D. and McClymont, E.L., Integrating lipid and isotopic analyses to reveal snow petrel diet dynamics in the Weddell Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. [in review] Lee H, Feakins SJ, Lu Z, et al. Comparison of three methods for the methylation of aliphatic and aromatic compounds. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2017;31:1633-1640. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.7947 Knust, R. and Schroder, M. (2014): The Expedition PS82 of the Research Vessel POLARSTERN to the southern Weddell Sea in 2013/2014 , Berichte zur Polar-und Meeresforschung = Reports on polar and marine research, Bremerhaven, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 680 , 155 p. . doi: 10.2312/BzPM_0680_2014 Boebel, O. (2019): The Expedition PS117 of the Research Vessel POLARSTERN to the Weddell Sea in 2018/2019 , Berichte zur Polar-und Meeresforschung = Reports on polar and marine research, Bremerhaven, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 732 , 205 p. . doi: 10.2312/BzPM_0732_2019 Hoppema, M. (2023): The Expedition PS129 of the Research Vessel POLARSTERN to the Weddell Sea in 2022 / H. Bornemann and S. Amir Sawadkuhi (editors) , Berichte zur Polar-und Meeresforschung = Reports on polar and marine research, Bremerhaven, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Polar-und Meeresforschung, 776 , 218 p. . doi: 10.57738/BzPM_0776_2023 Ferretti, V., Soave, G.E., Casaux, R., Coria, N.R. (2001) Diet of the Snow Petrel Pagodroma nivea at Laurie Island, Antarctica, during the 1997/98 breeding season. Marine Ornithology 29:71-73. http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.29.2.500 Folch, J., Lees, M., Stanley, G.S. (1957) A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipides from animal tissues. Journal of biological chemistry 226:497-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9258(18)64849-5 Wakefield, E., McClymont, E., Descamps, S. Grecian, W.J., Hoelzel, A.R., Honan, E.M., Rix, A.S., Robert, H., Bråthen, V.S., Phillips, R.A. (2025) Variability in foraging ranges of snow petrels and implications for breeding distribution and use of stomach-oil deposits as proxies for paleoclimate. Movement Ecology 13, 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-025-00609-7 |
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| Quality: | Analytical contamination was minimised through procedural controls, and replicate analyses were performed to ensure precision. Fatty acid identification was based on comparison of relative gas chromatography (GC) retention times and mass spectra with Supelco 37 component methyl esters (ME) mix (CRM47885, Sigma-Aldrich) and those previously reported. Spectral confirmation was performed using a National Institute of Standards and Technology Electron Ionisation reference library. For bulk stable isotopes, accuracy was monitored through multiple daily analysis of international (e.g. IAEA-600, IAEA-CH-3, IAEA-CH6, IAEA-N-1, IAEA-N-2, NBS 19, USGS24, USGS40) and in-house standards, which provided a linear range for d13C between -46 permille and +3 permille and for d15N between -4.5 permille and +20.4 permille. Analytical uncertainty was typically +/-0.1 permille (2 SD) for replicate analyses of the international standards and less than 0.2 permille (2 SD) on replicate sample analysis. Total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen data were obtained as part of the isotopic analysis using the internal standard: glutamic acid (40.82 wt % C, 9.52 wt % N). All compound-specific fatty acid samples were run in triplicate. Individual fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) isotope ratio values were corrected using a multipoint linear normalization of a C14-C20 FAME reference material (F8-3 standard provided by Arndt Schimmelmann, Indiana University, Bloomington). The long-term pooled standard deviations of the ME F8-3 reference compounds were all less than 0.35 permille (ranging from 0.21 permille to 0.34 permille, nD21). Fatty acid d13C was calculated through mass balance corrections of the measured FAME d13C and known d13C of the added methyl group, the latter derived through methylation of a phthalic acid with known isotopic value (Lee et al., 2017). |
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| Lineage/Methodology: | Stomach oil samples were collected between 26 November 2022 and 16 January 2023 at Svarthamaren, Dronning Maud Land (-71.89, 5.16), a colony of approximately 2000 breeding pairs of snow petrels. Most samples were obtained from breeding adults during handling for a concurrent tracking study (Wakefield et al., 2025). A non-invasive collection method adapted from Ferretti et al. (2001) was used: birds were approached at the nest with a 250 ml plastic beaker attached to a 1 m pole, and spontaneously regurgitated stomach oil was collected directly into the beaker. A small number of samples were collected similarly from non-breeding birds handled for morphometric and blood sampling. Approximately 2 ml of oil was transferred into 2.5 ml screw-top tubes using a clean plastic spatula. Separate beakers and spatulas were used for each bird and cleaned with hot water and detergent, followed by thorough rinsing. In cases where oil did not enter the beaker, uncontaminated regurgitate was recovered from nearby surfaces when sufficient volume was available. Samples were stored below 0 deg C in the field, and at -20 deg C at Troll Research Station and during transport prior to analysis. Reference prey samples were collected during RV Polarstern expeditions PS82, PS117, and PS129; detailed sampling protocols are provided in Knust and Schroder (2014), Boebel (2019), and Hoppema (2023). For fatty acid and fatty alcohol analysis, total lipids were extracted from freeze-dried prey tissues using a modified Folch et al. (1957) protocol. Fatty acids were converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), while fatty alcohols were derivatised to trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers. Stomach oils were directly methylated to FAMEs and derivatised to trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers. FAMEs and TMS ethers were identified and quantified using a Thermo Trace 1310 gas chromatograph coupled to an ISQ LT single quadrupole mass spectrometer. Each FAME has the nomenclature A:BomegaC, where A is the number of carbons in the chain, B is the number of double bonds present, and omegaC is the position of the first double bond from the methyl group end of the chain. Bulk stable isotopes (d13C and d15N) were measured on lipid-extracted prey residues and untreated stomach oils using a Costech ECS 4010 elemental analyser coupled to a Thermo Scientific Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Compound-specific d13C values of individual FAMEs were determined for eleven prey samples and ten stomach oil samples using gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). Analytical contamination was minimised through procedural controls, and replicate analyses were performed to ensure precision. | |
Locality
| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2014-01-15 |
| End Date | 2023-01-16 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -77.6927 |
| Northernmost | -63.0031 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -35.8668 |
| Easternmost | 5.15955 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Detailed Location | Svarthamaren |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Detailed Location | Southeastern Weddell Sea |
Instrumentation
| Data Collection: | Fatty acids and alcohols were identified and quantified by a Thermo Trace 1310 gas chromatograph linked to an ISQ LT single quadrupole mass spectrometer at the organic geochemistry lab in Durham University. Bulk stable isotopes (d13C and d15N) were measured on lipid-extracted prey residues and on original oils using a Costech elemental analyser (ECS 4010) connected to a Thermo Scientific Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer in Durham University. The carbon isotopic compositions (d13C) of individual FAMEs were determined on eleven reference prey samples and ten stomach oil samples using a Thermo gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry system in Durham University. |
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Storage
| Data Storage: | 2x .csv files. The following header structures are used across the files: d13C: Bulk carbon stable isotope composition (d13C) of the prey residual sample (after lipid extraction), expressed in permille relative to the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) standard. d15N: Bulk nitrogen stable isotope composition (d15N) of the prey residual sample (after lipid extraction), expressed in permille relative to atmospheric N2 (AIR). d13C[fatty acid], e.g. d13C14:0: Carbon isotopic composition (d13C, permille relative to VPDB) of fatty acid (e.g. 14:0) shown as mean of 3 replicates. stdevC[fatty acid], e.g. stdevC14:0: Standard deviation recorded in the analysis of 3 replicates of fatty acid (e.g. 14:0) (d13C, permille relative to VPDB). C[fatty acid], e.g. C14:0 (%): Relative abundance (%) of fatty acid (e.g. 14:0) to the sum of all quantified fatty acids and fatty alcohols in each sample. Suffix question mark indicates that the fatty acid is tentatively identified. C[fatty acid]_alcohol, e.g. C14:0_alcohol (%): Relative abundance (%) of fatty alcohol (e.g. 14:0) to the sum of all quantified fatty acids and fatty alcohols in each sample. Each FAME has the nomenclature A:BomegaC, where A is the number of carbons in the chain, B is the number of double bonds present, and omegaC is the position of the first double bond from the methyl group end of the chain. |
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