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The Biomarkers of Dietary Intake and Diet Contaminants Symposium will provide a forum for scientists in diverse disciplines who are interested in methods to assess dietary intake of nutrients and contaminants in confined and free-ranging animals, including humans.<P> A book will be published that includes chapters written by the presenters on various elements of markers of dietary intake and contaminants.
Non-Technical Summary: Scientists in several unrelated disciplines have independently developed approaches to determine the diet of free-ranging animals, but they have not integrated their findings. This project will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information so that several independent areas of investigation can be quickly advanced. <P> Approach: The symposium will be 2 to 3 days, with one-half day devoted to poster sessions. Topics to be covered include collection and use of intake data; use of endogenous stable isotopes; use of minerals as biomarkers; various markers of energy, protein, fat, and fatty acid intake; and markers of dietary contaminants and potential use in forensics. Speakers will represent a broad range of expertise and experience in basic and applied fields of animal nutrition (including comparative and human nutrition) to allow for exchange of ideas across scientific disciplines.