Treasures in insect collections: the future of the bomb-radiocarbon analysis

• 来源期刊: 中国昆虫科学（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2018,（6）
• 页码范围: 1128-1131
• 页数: 4页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12540

摘要

Dear Editor, Bomb-radiocarbon analysis of modern carbon has been applied in many fields of ecology.The method allows determining the residence time of carbon in photosynthetic products and thus all organic matter in ecosystems.The atmospheric 14C signature will soon drop below the prebomb level due to fixation of atmospheric carbon in terrestrial and marine ecosystems and high rates of 14C-free fossil fuel combustion.Hence,the time is running out for bomb-radiocarbon application.Insect collections shelter an immense quantity of specimens stored in alcohol.We show how those specimens can be used for exploring the trophic structure of food webs by comparing their isotopic radiocarbon signature.