TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of the isotopic composition of fish otolith-bound organic N with host tissue
AU - Lueders-Dumont, Jessica A.
AU - Sigman, Daniel M.
AU - Johnson, Beverly J.
AU - Jensen, Olaf P.
AU - Oleynik, Sergey
AU - Ward, Bess B.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Alexa Weigand for technical expertise and support in the laboratory; Sophia Myers, Sheriel Henry, and Sam Henry for assistance with N isotopic analysis of fish muscle tissue; Atleigh Forden, who assisted with ImageJ analysis of otoliths; Steve Eddy and Melissa Malmstedt at the University of Maine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) in Franklin, Maine, for providing farm-raised cod; Musky Fish Hatchery, Asbury, N.J., for providing farm-raised rainbow and brown trout; Ben Walther and John Mohan for otoliths of Atlantic croaker and measurements of δ15Nwmt and δ15Ndiet; and Jacub Kircun at NEFSC for collecting bottom trawl specimens for Atlantic herring and for providing the associated data. Additionally, we thank two fish markets: Nassau Seafood, Princeton, N.J., and Metropolitan Seafood, Lebanon, N.J., for providing fish heads from which otoliths were extracted. All research was conducted in accordance with the Princeton University Animal Care and Use protocol (IACUC No. 1995A-14). This work was supported by the Scott Fund for vertebrate paleontology of the Princeton University Department of Geosciences, the Grand Challenges Program of Princeton University, and the US NSF through grants OCE-1136345 (to BBW and DMS) and OCE-1060947 (to DMS).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Canadian Science Publishing. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The15N/14N ratio of the fish-native organic matter preserved in fish otoliths (or δ15Noto) may allow for reconstruction of fish trophic history and changes in food webs. To support this application, ground-truthing data are needed on the relationships among the δ15N of diet, of fish tissue (e.g., white muscle tissue, δ15Nwmt), and δ15Noto. Using a highly sensitive method for N isotope analysis, δ15Noto was compared with δ15Nwmt in 24 teleost species. Within a species, the difference between δ15Noto and δ15Nwmt (Δδ15 No-w) varied little across individuals, confirming the utility of δ15Noto to reconstruct δ15Nwmt changes for a given species. Across species, δ15Noto and δ15Nwmt were highly correlated. However, Δδ15No-w varied systematically across species. Phylogeny, the concentrations of total N and amino acids, and life history were ruled out as the main cause for the observed variation in Δδ15No-w. δ15Noto was lowest relative to δ15Nwmt in species producing larger otoliths. We propose that δ15Noto is elevated by isotopically fractionating metabolism of the organic matrix, which is less important when otolith growth is fast and thus when the otolith is large.
AB - The15N/14N ratio of the fish-native organic matter preserved in fish otoliths (or δ15Noto) may allow for reconstruction of fish trophic history and changes in food webs. To support this application, ground-truthing data are needed on the relationships among the δ15N of diet, of fish tissue (e.g., white muscle tissue, δ15Nwmt), and δ15Noto. Using a highly sensitive method for N isotope analysis, δ15Noto was compared with δ15Nwmt in 24 teleost species. Within a species, the difference between δ15Noto and δ15Nwmt (Δδ15 No-w) varied little across individuals, confirming the utility of δ15Noto to reconstruct δ15Nwmt changes for a given species. Across species, δ15Noto and δ15Nwmt were highly correlated. However, Δδ15No-w varied systematically across species. Phylogeny, the concentrations of total N and amino acids, and life history were ruled out as the main cause for the observed variation in Δδ15No-w. δ15Noto was lowest relative to δ15Nwmt in species producing larger otoliths. We propose that δ15Noto is elevated by isotopically fractionating metabolism of the organic matrix, which is less important when otolith growth is fast and thus when the otolith is large.
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U2 - 10.1139/cjfas-2018-0360
DO - 10.1139/cjfas-2018-0360
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85079203418
SN - 0706-652X
VL - 77
SP - 264
EP - 275
JO - Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
JF - Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
IS - 2
ER -