"The most important collateral effect of knowledge is ignorance. Just imagine someone else living in the knowledge island circulated by a sea of ignorance. When the surface of the island grows through the progress of science, also grows its border, its perimeter length, the frontier with the unknown". (David Gross, 2004 Nobel laureate) The use of stable isotopes of bioelements (CHONS) are present in atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, emerging as high potential tools for researches within different areas of Life Science. With aquatic organisms, the application of stable isotope of carbon (δ 13C) and of nitrogen (δ 15N) has occurred in different areas. In pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus larvae, the technique showed the free choice of the animals between live organisms and dry diet, during the whole larvae life since the first feeding. In shrimp culture, the growth of Paneus vannamei resulted from the metabolism of food provided and the lake primary productivity (biota). Through the mass and isotopic balance it was possible to measure the biota contribution, around 44% to 86% of carbon assimilated by the animals during its growth. Another example is related with the mangue crab Sesarma rectum, whose preference nutrition among Spartina alterniflora (C4), Rhizophora mangle (C3) and Hibiscus tiliaceus (C3) was evidenced by the isotopic model of two food sources using stable isotope of carbon (δ 13C). The technique of stable isotopes associated with the knowledge of basic concepts of natural isotopic variability and with the careful use of ratios 13C/12C, ²H/¹H, 18O/16O, 15N/14N and 36S/34S reveals itself as an advance for the knowledge island, in aquaculture area.
Aquaculture; carbon-13; nitrogen-15; stable isotopes
