Relationships between stable isotopes and metal contaminants in feathers are spurious and biologically uninformative.

Stable isotopes of carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) are used frequently in ecotoxicological investigations of birds to relate contaminant levels to trophic position (delta(15)N) or foraging location (delta(13)C) and many researchers using avian feathers in such investigations use delta(13)C or delta(15)N as a predictor of contaminant concentrations. Contaminants, especially mercury, however, are integrated into feathers over different time periods than are stable isotopes, resulting in spurious relationships that have no biological meaning. I show the fundamental principles behind the conclusion that relating delta(13)C or delta(15)N to contaminant concentrations in feathers is not appropriate in light of the number of recent studies that have employed this approach, and make recommendations for those wishing to investigate the relationship between contaminants and stable isotope ratios. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.