Is it time to retire {triangleup}?

Abstract

The paradigm postulating that tissue stable isotopic ratios ({delta}tissue) equal those of the diet ({delta}diet) plus a small, quasi-constant isotope discrimination factor {Delta} emerged in the late 1970s, establishing stable isotope analysis as a dietary proxy. Today, this framework is still widely used across multiple branches of science, despite growing contradicting evidence. Here, we reanalysed several well-controlled laboratory experiments and universally found that {Delta} not only varies strongly with{delta} diet, but also changes sign at a certain{delta} eq ={delta} diet ={delta} tissue value, which we term the {Delta}-equilibrium. The {Delta}-equilibrium phenomenon results from the sub-unity slope of the linear regression between{delta} diet and{delta} tissue and leads to converging of{delta} tissue values. The most frequently observed position of the {Delta}-equilibrium on the ({delta}13C,{delta} 15N) plane is (-21{+/-}1{per thousand}, 12{+/-}1{per thousand}). These findings firmly establish that stable isotopes are not neutral spectators but active participants in biochemical processes. If presented evidence holds in a much broader study, the paradigm{delta} tissue ={delta} food + {Delta} can finally be retired after half a century of service, being replaced by{delta} tissue = ax{delta}food + Const, where a is the newly defined isotope assimilation factor. The {Delta}-equilibrium position is then found as{delta} eq = Const/(1 - a). The reason for isotope convergence remains a subject for future research, but likely hypotheses include evolutionary adaptation and isotopic resonance.