稳定同位素分析在昆虫生态研究中的应用

综述了稳定同位素分析的原理与方法以及应用于昆虫生态研究的理论基础与进展，并对其发展前景进行初步探讨。该方法的应用以寄主植物同位素组成差异为前提，常用的同位素包括 D，13C，15N和18O，主要涉及确定食物来源，探寻寄主间转移规律及迁移路线、生态系统中物质与能量流动、食物网构建等方面。对长期保存标本与昆虫化石的同位素分析则扩展了研究的时间范围。同位素转化时间的确定、质量平衡方程和混合模型的应用则是验证相关生态问题的重要步骤；生态、生理和生化过程对同位素分馏的影响尚需深入研究。

Applications of stable isotope analysis in insect ecology

Theoretical basis and application of stable isotope analysis in insect ecology as well as its principle and method are reviewed, and its further application prospects are suggested. The isotopic differences among host plants constitute the basis of this technique, in which D, ()~(13)C, ()~(15)N and ()~(18)O are mainly involved. Stable isotope analysis is widely used in dietary reconstruction, host|shifting and migration, flows of mass and energy through ecosystems, and construction of food web. The long|term preserved specimens and fossil insects, when used for stable isotope analysis, can expand the temporal scale of these studies greatly. The applications of mass balance equation and mixing model along with the verification of diet turnover time are important steps to validate related ecological process; and more experiments are needed to test the effects of ecological, physiological and biochemical process on isotope fractionation.