Steve:

We conducted a study on the carbon isotopic composition of individual lipds
from wild Arctic foxes a couple of years ago. As they were wild they ranged
from obese to animals that had not eaten for some time. The results are in:

Gilmour I., Johnston M.A., Pillinger C.T., Pond C.M., Mattacks C.A. and
Prestrud P. (1995) The carbon isotopic composition of individual fatty
acids as indicators of dietary history in arctic foxes on Svalbard. Phil.
Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 349. 135-142.

Pond C.M., Mattacks C.A., Gilmour I., Johnston M.A. and Pillinger C.T.
(1995) Chemical and carbon isotopic composition of fatty acids in adipose
tissue as indicators of dietary history in wild arctic foxes (Alopex
lagopus) on Svalbard. J. Zool. 236, 611-623.

Pond C.M., Mattacks C.A. and Prestrud P. (1995) Variability in the
distribution of adipose tissue in wild arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) on
Svalbard. J. Zool. 236, 593-610.

and reviewed in:

Pond C.M. and Gilmour I. (1997) Stable isotopes in adipose tissue fatty
acids as indicators of diet in arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus). Proc. Nutr.
Soc. 56, 1067-1081.

Iain

Iain Gilmour
Planetary Sciences Research Institute
The Open University
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
United Kingdom

tel. +44-190-865-5140
fax. +44-190-865-5910

http://psri.open.ac.uk