Deuterium stable isotope ratios as tracers of water resource use: an experimental test with rock doves

Naturally-occurring deuterium stable isotope ratios can potentially be used to trace water resource use by animals, but estimating the contribution of isotopically distinct water sources requires the accurate prediction of isotopic discrimination factors between water inputs and an animal’s body water pool. We examined the feasibility of using estimates of water fluxes between a bird and its environment with a mass-balance model for the deuterium stable isotope ratio of avian body water (δD_body) to predict isotopic discrimination factors. Apparent fractionation and thus discrimination factors were predicted to vary with the proportion of an animal’s total water losses than could be attributed to evaporative processes. To test our ability to predict isotopic discrimination, we manipulated water intake and evaporative water loss in rock doves (Columba livia) by providing them with fresh water or 0.15 M NaCl solution in thermoneutral or hot environments. After we switched the birds from drinking water with δD=−95‰ VSMOW (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water) to enriched drinking water with δD=+52‰ VSMOW, steady-state δD_body was approached asymptotically. The equilibrium δD_body was enriched by 10–50‰ relative to water inputs. After isotopic equilibrium was reached, the degree of enrichment was positively related (r²=0.34) to the fraction of total water loss that occurred by evaporation \( {\left( {{\text{r}}_{{{\text{evap}}}} /{\text{r}}_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}} } \right)} \)supporting the major prediction of the model. The variation we observed in discrimination factors suggests that the apparent fractionation of deuterium will be difficult to predict accurately under natural conditions. Our results show that accurate estimates of the contribution of different water sources to a bird’s body water pool require large deuterium isotopic differences between the sources.