Stable isotope profiles of partially migratory salmonid populations in Atlantic rivers of Patagonia

JAVIER E. CIANCIO; MIGUEL A. PASCUAL; FLORENCIA BOTTO; M. AMAYA SANTI; S. O´NEAL; CARLA M. RIVA ROSSI; OSCAR IRIBARNE

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2008 vol. 72 p. 1708 - 1719

0022-1112

In the present study, profiles of stable isotope composition were characterized for two specieswith partially migratory populations in rivers along the latitudinal gradient of Patagonia, browntrout Salmo trutta and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. The effects of factors (e.g. ontogeny of fishes, location, species and fasting) that may influence the stable isotope analysis (SIA) wereevaluated, as was SIA evaluated as a tool to assign individual fish to their corresponding ecotype.Anadromous fishes exhibited enriched d15N (15
2  1
0%; mean  S.D.) and d13C (19
2 1
3%) relative to resident fishes’ d15N (8
8  1
1%) and d13C (23
2  2
5%). For both species,the difference in d15N was larger between resident (range 6
8–10
7%) and anadromous (range 14
3–17
8%) fishes than that in d13C. Values of d13C, while not as dramatically contrasting in rainbow trout, provided a powerful anadromy marker for brown trout in the region. Increases were found in both d15N and d13C during the spawning migration of anadromous rainbow trout, most likely due to fasting. Differences in stable isotopes between location, size and species were found, suggesting different stable isotopes base levels in freshwater environments and different trophic levels and feeding location of anadromous populations. The SIA was demonstrated as a powerful tool for ecotype discrimination in Patagonian Rivers, overriding any effect of sampling location, size or species.