An elemental and stable isotope assessment of water strider feeding ecology and lipid dynamics: synthesis of laboratory and field studies

Summary 1. Despite the ubiquity and abundance of water striders (Hemiptera: Gerridae) in temperate streams and rivers and their potential usefulness as sentinels in contaminant studies, little is known about their feeding ecology and lipid dynamics. 2. In this study we used stable isotopes of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) and elemental carbon to nitrogen ratios (C/N) to assess dietary habits and lipid content, respectively, for water …