Five Points Plant Isotopic Values for Carbon and Nitrogen

To quantify foraging strategies in the small mammal community of the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, plant samples were collected at green-up (generally March for forbs and July for grasses), and when going to seed (generally May for forbs and October for grasses). Plants were analyzed for C:N ratio, delta15N and delta13C isotopic values and for carbon and nitrogen percent content by mass in both leaf and seed. These isotopic values can be compared to mouse plasma values to determine forage width (Carbon) and forage breadth (Nitrogen). Please see Sevilleta Dataset 313 on small mammal plasma to quantify resource preferences within and between small mammal communities.