Stable isotope mass spectrometerManufacturers analyze that some birds migrate according to seasonal changes, and how to determine the bird's migration map or route has always been a challenge for researchers. The migration of animals has long been a focus of scientific research, and the outbreak and spread of avian influenza in wild birds have accelerated bird migration studies aimed at tracing the source of the epidemic. Stable isotope technology was introduced into various fields of ecological research in the last century. Due to the fact that stable isotopes carry a lot of information about the material and energy cycling processes in ecosystems, they have become a special carrier and effective means for studying bird migration.
During the transportation of water vapor, there is a phenomenon of isotope diversion, resulting in uneven distribution of isotopes at different locations and altitudes within the range. At low altitudes, the isotopic ratio is higher in coastal areas, while at high altitudes, the isotopic content is higher in offshore areas. This distribution forms a map composed of isotopic ratios within the region.
Birds feed on local insects during their migration, while local insects feed on local plants, which absorb local water and represent different isotopic abundance information in the local water. The feathers that constantly grow during the migration process of birds carry information about their migration path.
Stable isotope mass spectrometer combined with elemental analysis system can be used to analyze isotopes in sliced bird feathers. The element analysis stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry system equipped with a large capacity automatic sampler can complete the analysis of isotope ratios in a feather sample within a few minutes, thus quickly providing accurate isotope ratio information.
The feather samples of birds undergo cracking in a high-temperature cracking furnace, and then enter the subsequent reaction furnace for reaction. The pure H2 obtained after GC column separation is analyzed by a stable isotope mass spectrometer to obtain the corresponding isotopic ratios of the samples.
The isotopic ratio information of bird feathers at different positions is a living map of their migration routes. By combining this information with isotope distribution maps, the various locations that birds pass through can be determined, thus drawing the migration path of birds.