@article{fdi:010089498,
  title = {{C} and {N} stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong ({D}ugong dugon)},
  author = {{T}hibault, {M}artin and {L}etourneur, {Y}. and {C}leguer, {C}. and {B}onneville, {C}laire and {B}riand, {M}. {J}. and {D}erville, {S}. and {B}ustamante, {P}. and {G}arrigue, {C}laire},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he dugong ({D}ugong dugon), a large marine mammal herbivore of the {I}ndo-{P}acific, is vulnerable to extinction at a global scale due to a combination of human-related threats including habitat degradation. {T}he species forages on seagrass habitats (marine phanerogams) and plays a key role in the functioning and sensitivity of these declining coastal ecosystems. {T}he trophic behaviour and plasticity of dugong populations in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors are therefore crucial features to both dugong and seagrass conservation. {Y}et, this knowledge remains limited to few visual observations and analyses of mouth, stomach or faecal contents of stranded individuals. {W}e take advantage of a long-term monitoring of stranded individuals from the endangered {N}ew {C}aledonian population to depict features of dugongs' trophic ecology from {C}arbon and {N}itrogen stable isotopes. {A} total of 59 dugong skin samples were used to portrait the stable isotope niche of dugongs according to their sex and maturity. {I}n light of previous work conducted in {N}ew {C}aledonia, a subset of these samples was used to model the trophic mix of dugong males and females. {O}ur stable isotope mixing models used {C} and {N} isotope values of 10 taxa bbelonging to five divisions of metazoans, plants, and chromists. {O}ur results represent the first estimate of the species dietary niche in the isotopic space. {T}hey suggest that the diet of dugong calves overlaps more with that of adult females (delta {C}-13: - 6.38 +/- 1.13 parts per thousand; delta {N}-15: 2.49 +/- 1.10 parts per thousand) than males (delta {C}-13: - 5.92 +/- 1.10 parts per thousand; delta {N}-15: 3.69 +/- 1.28 parts per thousand). {F}urther, we highlight differences in the expected trophic mix of dugong adult males and females. {F}rom these, we formulate a sex-specific foraging behaviour hypothesis in dugongs, whereby lactating females could forage over smaller spatial ranges but more diverse food sources thanmales. {T}he study emphasizes the importance of long-term stranding monitoring programs to study the ecology of marine mammals.. {F}inally, it depicts an ecological feature that may contribute to the sensitivity of vulnerable dugongs to ongoing changes on tropical coastal ecosystems.},
  keywords = {{NOUVELLE} {CALEDONIE} ; {PACIFIQUE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{S}cientific {R}eports - {N}ature},
  volume = {14},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {11896 [11 p.]},
  ISSN = {2045-2322},
  year = {2024},
  DOI = {10.1038/s41598-023-50578-3},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010089498},
}