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Contrasting C and N isotope ratios from sperm whale skin and squid between the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California: effect of habitat

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Abstract

To investigate feeding variation between populations of an apex oceanic predator, stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) have been compared in skin of female and immature male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) from the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the Gulf of California (GC). Whale sexes were determined genetically. The δ13C and δ15N values from squid muscle were used from the GC, and from inshore and offshore sites in the GoM. We documented contrastingly lower δ13C and δ15N from whales and squid of the GoM compared with those from the GC. While this difference may be associated with variation in trophic position, geographic variation in biochemical cycling influenced significantly the contrasting isotope values between gulfs. Within the northern GoM, the highly distinct δ15N values of neritic squid versus mesopelagic squid provide further evidence of habitat specificity in δ15N.

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Acknowledgments

Skin tissue samples from free-ranging sperm whales in the northern GoM were collected under Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act permit #909–1,465 and #909–1,726. We thank C. Roden and D. Epperson (Minerals Management Service), B. Mate (OSU), A. Jochens (Texas A&M) and all scientific team (SWSS project) and crew of the R/V Gyre for their extensive support during field work. We are grateful to J. Wormouth (Texas A&M), K. Johnson, A. Hamilton and A. Debosse (DOC/NOAA/NMFS) for the collection of squid specimens. We thank J. Dominguez (NMSU) and D. W. Weller (SWFSC-La Jolla-NOAA) for their editions and comments to an early draft of the manuscript, and D. W. Johnson (Western Watersheds Project-Carlton, WA) for his editions on the final draft of this manuscript. We thank the associate editor C. Harrod and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism and comments that improved the manuscript significantly. This project was funded by Minerals Management Service Contract 0106CT39790 and partially by MBRS-RISE R25 Grant #R25GM061222.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, MSC 3AF, Las Cruces, NM, 88003-8001, USA

    R. I. Ruiz-Cooley

  2. Protected Resources Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92037-1508, USA

    R. I. Ruiz-Cooley

  3. School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    D. T. Engelhaupt

  4. P.O. Box 504, St. Petersburg, FL, 33731, USA

    J. G. Ortega-Ortiz

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  1. R. I. Ruiz-Cooley
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Correspondence to R. I. Ruiz-Cooley.

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Communicated by C. Harrod.

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Ruiz-Cooley, R.I., Engelhaupt, D.T. & Ortega-Ortiz, J.G. Contrasting C and N isotope ratios from sperm whale skin and squid between the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California: effect of habitat. Mar Biol 159, 151–164 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1795-3

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