SEACHANGE research presented at ISOECOL 2026 in Kong Kong
Members of the SEACHANGE project recently participated in the 14th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (ISOECOL 2026), held in Hong Kong from 12-16 October 2026. The conference is the leading international forum for researchers using stable isotope techniques to investigate ecological, environmental and palaeoenvironmental questions, bringing together scientists working across areas including trophic ecology, biogeochemistry, palaeoecology, marine conservation and methodological innovation.
At this year's conference, SEACHANGE researchers presented two studies showcasing the power of compound-specific stable isotope analysis to explore past marine ecosystems. Qian Huang and colleagues presented research reconstructing food web dynamics in the northern North Sea over the last millennium. Using amino acid-specific nitrogen isotope analysis of shell material from the long-lived ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) alongside published data from Atlantic cod bones, the team disentangled changes in baseline nitrogen sources from shifts in trophic structure. Their results suggest increasing trophic positions since around 1800 CE and a growing contribution of microbially reworked organic matter to marine food webs, demonstrating how multiple biological archives can provide complementary perspectives on long-term ecosystem change.
Evgeny Genelt-Yanovskiy also presented research on blue whale bones collected during the early decades of industrial whaling around South Georgia and now housed at the Natural History Museum, London. Through bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses, the study identified evidence for multiple whale provenances and changes in feeding ecology between successive decades of the twentieth century. These findings offer new insights into the migratory behaviour and population structure of Southern Hemisphere blue whales prior to the widespread impacts of commercial whaling.
Together, these presentations highlight how the analytical approaches at the heart of SEACHANGE can unlock information preserved within shells, bones and other biological archives, providing unique perspectives on marine ecosystem change across timescales ranging from decades to millennia. Participation in ISOECOL 2026 offered an excellent opportunity to share these findings with the international stable isotope community and to engage with researchers applying similar techniques to ecological questions around the world
