Abstract:

Reef fish were collected at natural reef sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico from August 30, 2015, through November 3, 2015. White muscle tissue samples from fish were used to perform stable isotope analysis to examine reef fish trophic ecology.

Suggested Citation:

Glabach, Miaya. 2019. Stable isotope data from reef fish collected at natural reefs sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2015-08-30 to 2015-11-03. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-d659-1h91

Publications:

Patterson III, W. F., Chanton, J. P., Hollander, D. J., Goddard, E. A., Barnett, B. K., & Tarnecki, J. H. (2019). The Utility of Stable and Radioisotopes in Fish Tissues as Biogeochemical Tracers of Marine Oil Spill Food Web Effects. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills, 219–238. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_13

Purpose:

Stable isotope analysis was used to supplement diet data to examine reef fish trophic ecology. Results from stable isotope analysis provide insight into a primary carbon source, trophic position, and benthic versus pelagic feeding.

Data Parameters and Units:

USA Sample (sample number), Date (date sample collected), Species (common name), Sample Site (sample site name), Latitude (decimal degrees), Longitude (decimal degrees), FL (fork length in mm), TL (total length in mm), Sample weight (fish’s weight in mg), Sex, Elemental N% (percent nitrogen by mass), mg N in capsule, Elemental C% (percent carbon by mass), mg C in capsule, δ15NAir ‰ (nitrogen stable isotope delta value relative to air standard), δ13CV-PDB ‰ (carbon stable isotope delta value relative to Pee Dee Belemnite standard), δ34SV-CDT ‰ (nitrogen stable isotope delta value relative to Vienna Canyon Diablo Troilite standard). Coordinates for the sites The Edge, Yellow Gravel, and Trysler Grounds are incorrect in the data file. The correct coordinates are as follows: The Edge: 29.82835, -87.32493 Yellow Gravel: 29.72506, -87.40498 Trysler Grounds: 29.89628, -87.53241

Methods:

Approximately 50g of white muscle tissue was removed from reef fish to perform stable isotope analysis. Muscle tissue samples were freeze-dried for at least 24 hours, and then ground into a fine powder with an Omni-International bead mill homogenizer. Samples containing between 0.2 and 0.5 g of pulverized dried tissue were shipped to a contract laboratory to perform analysis of δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S with a Europa Scientific GSL/Geo 20-20 stable isotope ratio-mass spectrometer (SIR-MS). The isotopic ratio of a sample relative to the ratio in a standard was reported as a delta value.

Individual Files: