We require some dried plant material from Svalbard to analyse for stable isotope ratios, but unfortunately we do not have the possibility to travel to Svalbard this summer. We will use these data to compare with similar plants from NE Greenland which function as food for Light-bellied Brent Geese which we have caught in Denmark this spring and from which we cut wing feathers. These feathers were grown on the moulting grounds and the ratio of heavy to light isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in the feathers reflects those in the plants they were eating at the time the feathers were grown. We have mounted gps loggers on some of these geese to track them back to their summering areas this year, so we can verify whether these individuals return to Greenland or Svalbard. The stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen in the plants directly reflect those in the ground water which originate from precipitation across large geographical scales, but which are subtly different in the two countries, so we hope to show that the summer provenance of the tagged birds is reflected in differences in stable isotopes in the food items within and between the two places. We are requesting small samples of Cochleria officinalis, Arctophila fulva and Dupontia fisheri, as well as common wetland mosses such as Scopidium scorpoides and Calliergon species. Just a few (<20) leaves in the case of the higher plants, small tufts pulled between finger and thumb in the case of the mosses. We would be grateful if you would dry them completely on a radiator or very warm window ledge for a few days to resist fungal colonization and then store and send in paper envelopes to me Tony Fox, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, DK-8410 Rønde, Denmark. Please identify the species on the envelopes and the date and location, as well as your name and address for a modest reward! Thank you so much in advance!
