The nitrogen (N) isotopic composition (δ15N) of bulk sedimentary N (δ15Nbulk) is a common tool for studying past biogeochemical cycling in the paleoceanographic record. Empirical evidence suggests that natural fluctuations in the δ15N of surface nutrient N are reflected in the δ15N of exported planktonic biomass and in sedimentary δ15Nbulk. However, δ15Nbulk is an analysis of total combustible sedimentary N, and therefore also includes mixtures of N sources and/or selective removal or preservation of N-containing compounds. Compound-specific nitrogen isotope analyses of individual amino acids (δ15NAA) are novel measurements with the potential to decouple δ15N changes in nutrient N from trophic effects, two main processes that can influence δ15Nbulk records. As a proof of concept study to examine how δ15NAA can be applied in marine sedimentary systems, we compare the δ15NAA signatures of surface and sinking POM sources with shallow surface sediments from the Santa Barbara Basin, a sub-oxic depositional environmental that exhibits excellent preservation of sedimentary organic matter. Our results demonstrate that δ15NAA signatures of both planktonic biomass and sinking POM are well preserved in such surface sediments. However, we also observed an unexpected inverse correlation between δ15N value of phenylalanine (δ15NPhe; the best AA proxy for N isotopic value at the base of the food web) and calculated trophic position. We used a simple N isotope mass balance model to confirm that over long time scales, δ15NPhe values should in fact be directly dependent on shifts in ecosystem trophic position. While this result may appear incongruent with current applications of δ15NAA in food webs, it is consistent with expectations that paleoarchives will integrate N dynamics over much longer timescales. We therefore propose that for paleoceanographic applications, key δ15NAA parameters are ecosystem trophic position, which determines relative partitioning of 15N into source AA versus trophic AA pools, and the integrated δ15NAA of all common protein AA (δ15NTHAA), which serves as a proxy for the δ15N of nutrient N. Together, we suggest that these can provide a coupled picture of regime shifts in planktonic ecosystem structure, δ15N at the base of food webs, and possibly additional information about nutrient dynamics.