1. Stable Isotopes: History, Units, and Instrumentation.- Section I Ecophysiological Studies in Plants.- 2. Carbon Isotope Fractionation and Plant Water-Use Efficiency.- 3. Carbon Isotope Ratios and Physiological Processes in Aridland Plants.- 4. Stable Carbon Isotope Ratio as an Index of Water-Use Efficiency in C3 Halophytes-Possible Relationship to Strategies for Osmotic Adjustment.- 5. Stable Carbon Isotopes in Vernal Pool Aquatics of Differing Photosynthetic Pathways.- 6. Studies of Mechanisms Affecting the Fractionation of Carbon Isotopes in Photosynthesis.- 7. Intertree Variability of ?I3C in Tree Rings.- 8. Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation in Plant Tissues.- 9. Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Ratios in Plant Cellulose: Mechanisms and Applications.- 10. Stable Hydrogen Isotope Ratios in Plants: A Review of Current Theory and Some Potential Applications.- Section II Animal Food Webs and Feeding Ecology.- 11. Stable Carbon Isotopes in Terrestrial Ecosystem Research.- 12. ?13C Measurements as Indicators of Carbon Flow in Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.- 13. Natural Carbon Isotope Tracers in Arctic Aquatic Food Webs.- 14. Some Problems and Potentials of Strontium Isotope Analysis for Human and Animal Ecology.- 15. Natural Isotope Abundances in Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) Baleen: Markers of Aging and Habitat Usage.- 16. Doubly-Labeled Water Studies of Vertebrate Physiological Ecology.- 17. A ?13C and ?15N Tracer Study of Nutrition in Aquaculture: Penaeus vannamei in a Pond Growout System.- Section III Ecosystem Process Studies.- 18. Stable Isotope Ratios and the Dynamics of Caliche in Desert Soils.- 19. The Use of Stable Isotopes in Assessing the Effect of Agriculture on Arid and Semi-Arid Soils.- 20. Estimates of N2 Fixation in Ecosystems: The Need for andBasis of the 15N Natural Abundance Method.- 21. The Use of Variation in the Natural Abundance of 15N to Assess Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation by Woody Plants.- 22. 13C/12C Ratios in Atmospheric Methane and Some of Its Sources.- 23. Temperature-Dependent Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation in Cyanobacterial Sheaths: Applications to Studies of Modern and Precambrian Stromatolites.- 24. Sulfur Isotope Studies of the Pedosphere and Biosphere.- 25. Sulfate Fertilization and Changes in Stable Sulfur Isotopic Compositions of Lake Sediments.- 26. The Use of Stable Sulfur and Nitrogen Isotopes in Studies of Plant Responses to Air Pollution.- 27. The Use of Stable Sulfur Isotope Ratios in Air Pollution Studies: An Ecosystem Approach in South Florida.- 28. 87Sr/86Sr Ratios Measure the Sources and Flow of Strontium in Terrestrial Ecosystems.

The analysis of stable isotope ratios represents one of the most exciting new technical advances in environmental sciences. In this book, leading experts offer the first survey of applications of stable isotope analysis to ecological research. Central topics are - plant physiology studies - food webs and animal metabolism - biogeochemical fluxes. Extensive coverage is given to natural isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and strontium in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Ecologists of diverse research interests, as well as agronomists, anthropologists, and geochemists will value this overview for its wealth of information on theoretical background, experimental approaches, and technical design of studies utilizing stable isotope ratios.