Abstract
Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) are a fish species ubiquitous to the fresh waters of Arctic region and brook char (Salvelinus fontinalis) are similarly common across the sub-Arctic region of eastern Canada. Populations can be small in numbers, especially farther north thus it is important to develop non-lethal methods of sampling these fish to minimize the invasiveness and impact of scientific research. We examined the stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in white muscle, caudal fin, and adipose fin tissues of Arctic char and brook char (S. fontinalis) from northern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. Our results revealed several broad conclusions. First, differences among muscle, caudal fin, and adipose fin tissues were ~1 ‰ for freshwater Arctic and brook char. Second, the two species within the same drainage had similar stable isotope levels and tissue differences. Third, anadromous Arctic char show similar, non-significant differences among these tissues for δ15N, but muscle δ13C was highly enriched. Fourth, the stable isotope levels and tissue differences were the same for anadromous Arctic char from two watersheds where char use distinctly different ocean environments. Overall, it appears that caudal fin tissue in particular is a useful surrogate for white muscle δ13C and δ15N levels for Arctic and brook char in this region and thus, a non-lethal collection of a small sample of caudal fin tissue will provide an accurate measure of white muscle isotope levels.
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Acknowledgments
We are thankful to the field and laboratory assistance provided by Andrea Chute, Kyra Stiles, Bill Tibble, and Laura Feeney. Our fieldwork was supported by the community of Kangiqsualujjuaq and kANGIDLUASUk (Torngats National Park, Parks Canada and the Nunatsiavut Government). We accessed sites with the help of Nunavik Rotors. Funding was provided in part by the International Polar Year 2007 and Environment Canada. All animal handling methods were approved by the University of New Brunswick Animal Care Committee.
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Curry, R.A., Gautreau, M.D. & Culp, J.M. Fin tissues as surrogates of white muscle when assessing carbon and nitrogen stable isotope levels for Arctic and brook char. Environ Biol Fish 97, 627–633 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0165-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0165-z