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

Abstract

In the present study, profiles of stable isotope composition were characterized for two species with partially migratory populations in rivers along the latitudinal gradient of Patagonia, brown trout 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) were evaluated, as was SIA evaluated as a tool to assign individual fish to their corresponding ecotype. Anadromous fishes exhibited enriched δ15N (15·2 ± 1·0‰; mean ±s.d.) and δ13C (−19·2 ± 1·3‰) relative to resident fishes’δ15N (8·8 ± 1·1‰) and δ13C (−23·2 ± 2·5‰). For both species, the difference in δ15N was larger between resident (range 6·8–10·7‰) and anadromous (range 14·3–17·8‰) fishes than that in δ13C. Values of δ13C, while not as dramatically contrasting in rainbow trout, provided a powerful anadromy marker for brown trout in the region. Increases were found in both δ15N and δ13C 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.