Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that otolith trace elemental signatures (microchemistries) of mottled sculpin Cottus bairdi, slimy sculpin C. cognatus, and juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch were predictive of those of juvenile steelhead O. mykiss across many sites within the Lake Michigan basin. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to generate otolith microchemistry signatures for each individual fish. For each species pair, statistical correlations of mean otolith concentrations of Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba, and Pb for each site were estimated. Linear equations describing these relationships were used to transform juvenile steelhead otolith microchemistry data to those of each of the other species. Transformed otolith microchemistry data were subjected to random forest classifications developed for mottled sculpin, slimy sculpin, and juvenile coho salmon to assess interspecific natal source assignment accuracies. Steelhead otolith concentrations of Sr were significantly correlated with those of each of the other species, whereas otolith concentrations of Ba and Mn were significantly correlated among some species pairs, but not others. Natal source assignment accuracies of juvenile steelhead to site and watershed generally decreased when otolith microchemistry data were transformed to those of mottled sculpin, slimy sculpin, and coho salmon. Miss-assigned fish often classified into nearby watersheds within larger hydrologic units, leading to higher assignment accuracies at coarser geographical resolutions (75–97% correct assignment to hydrologic unit for each species). These findings suggest that applications of otolith microchemistry data may extend beyond the species from which they are collected.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avery EL (1974) Reproduction and recruitment of anadromous salmonids in Wisconsin tributaries of Lake Michigan. Bureau of Research Study Report 108, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Bartron ML, Scribner KT (2004) Temporal comparisons of genetic diversity in Lake Michigan steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss, populations: effects of hatchery supplementation. Environ Biol Fish 69:395–407
Bigrigg JL (2008) Determining stream origin of four purported walleye stocks in Lake Erie using otolith elemental analysis. Master’s thesis, The Ohio State University
Boehler CT, Miner JG, Farver JR, Fryer BJ (2012) Within-stream release-site fidelity of steelhead trout from Lake Erie hatchery stocks. J Great Lakes Res 38:251–259
Breen MJ, Ruetz CR III, Thompson KJ, Kohler SL (2009) Movements of mottled sculpins (Cottus bairdii) in a Michigan stream: how restricted are they? Can J Fish Aquat Sci 66:31–41
Breiman L (2001) Random forests. Mach Learn 45:5–32
Brennan SR, Fernandez DP, Zimmerman CE, Cerling TE, Brown RJ, Wooller MJ (2015) Strontium isotopes in otoliths of a non-migratory fish (slimy sculpin): implications for provenance studies. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 149:32–45
Campana SE (1999) Chemistry and composition of fish otoliths: pathways, mechanisms and applications. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 188:263–297
Campana SE, Thorrold SR (2001) Otoliths, increments, and elements: keys to a comprehensive understanding of fish populations. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 58:30–38
Claramunt RM, Clapp DF (2014) Response to Dettmers et al. (2012): Great Lakes fisheries managers are pursuing appropriate goals. Fisheries 39:123–125
Claramunt RM, Madenjian CM, Clapp DF (2013) Pacific salmonines in the Great Lakes basin. In: Taylor WW, Lynch AJ, Leonard NJ (eds) Great Lakes fisheries policy & management: a binational perspective, 2nd edn. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, pp 609–650
Clark RD Jr, Bence JR, Claramunt RM, Johnson JE, Gonder D, Legler ND (2016) A spatially explicit assessment of changes in Chinook salmon fisheries in lakes Michigan and Huron from 1986 to 2011. N Am J Fish Manag 36:1068–1083
Crawford SS (2001) Salmonine introductions to the Laurentian Great Lakes: an historical review and evaluation of ecological effects. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 132:205
Davis JJ (2013) Examination of spawning stock specific recruitment and migration dynamics in Lake Erie white bass. Master’s thesis, Bowling Green State University
Doubleday ZA, Harris HH, Izzo C, Gillanders BM (2014) Strontium randomly substituting for calcium in fish otolith aragonite. Anal Chem 86:865–869
DuFour MR, May CJ, Roseman EF, Ludsin SA, Vandergoot CS, Pritt JJ, Fraker ME, Davis JJ, Tyson JT, Miner JG, Marschall EA, Mayer CM (2015) Portfolio theory as a management tool to guide conservation and restoration of multi-stock fish populations. Ecosphere 6:1–21
Edmonds JS, Moran MJ, Caputi N, Morita M (1989) Trace element analysis of fish sagittae as an aid to stock identification: pink snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in western Australian waters. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 46:50–54
Einum S, Nislow KH (2005) Local-scale density-dependent survival of mobile organisms in continuous habitats: an experimental test using Atlantic salmon. Oecologia 143:203–210
Elsdon TS, Wells BK, Campana SE, Gillanders BM, Jones CM, Limburg KE, Secor DH, Thorrold SR, Walther BD (2008) Otolith chemistry to describe movements and life-history parameters of fishes: hypotheses, assumptions, limitations and inferences. Oceanogr Mar Biol 46:297–330
Eshenroder R (1990) A perspective on artificial fishery systems for the Great Lakes. Proceedings of Wild Trout IV:172–176
Farrell J, Campana SE (1996) Regulation of calcium and strontium deposition on the otoliths of juvenile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Comp Biochem Physiol 115A:103–109
Great Lakes Fishery Commission (2011) Strategic vision of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission 2011-2020. Great Lakes fish Comm Misc pub 2011–03, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 17 pp.
Hamer PA, Jenkins GP (2007) Comparison of spatial variation in otolith chemistry of two fish species and relationships with water chemistry and otolith growth. J Fish Biol 71:1035–1055
Hirethota PS, Burzynski TE (2015) Natural reproduction of salmonids in Lake Michigan tributaries of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Southern Lake Michigan Fisheries Team
Houde ED (2008) Emerging from Hjort’s shadow. J Northwest Atl Fish Sci 41:53–70
Hubbs CL, Lagler KF, Smith GR (2004) Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor
Izzo C, Doubleday ZA, Gillanders BM (2016) Where do elements bind within the otoliths of fish? Mar Freshw Res 67:1072–1076
Jochum KP, Nohl U, Herwig K, Lammel E, Stoll B, Hofmann AW (2005) GeoReM: a new geochemical database for reference materials and isotopic standards. Geostand Geoanal Res 29:333–338
Jonas J, Claramunt RM, Rutherford ES (2008) Salmonine reproduction and recruitment. In: Clapp DF, Horns W (eds) The state of Lake Michigan in 2005. Great Lakes fish Comm spec pub 08–02, Ann Arbor, pp 65–70
Keeler RA (2006) Development and application of passive integrated transponder technology to investigate the movement and reproductive ecology of adult slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) in small New Brunswick streams. Master’s thesis, University of New Brunswick
Liaw A, Wiener M (2002) Classification and regression by randomForest. R News 2:18–22
Ludsin SA, DeVanna KM, Smith REH (2014) Physical-biological coupling and the challenge of understanding fish recruitment in freshwater lakes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 71:775–794
Marklevitz SAC, Fryer BJ, Gonder D, Yang Z, Johnson J, Moerke A, Morbey YE (2011) Use of otolith chemistry to discriminate juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from different wild populations and hatcheries in Lake Huron. J Great Lakes Res 37:698–706
Marklevitz SAC, Fryer BJ, Johnson J, Gonder D, Morbey YE (2016) Otolith microchemistry reveals spatio-temporal heterogeneity of natal sources and inter-basin migrations of Chinook salmon in Lake Huron. J Great Lakes Res 42:668–677
Mercier L, Darnaude AM, Bruguier O, Vasconcelos RP, Cabral HN, Costa MJ, Lara M, Jones DL, Mouillot D (2011) Selecting statistical models and variable combinations for optimal classifications using otolith microchemistry. Ecol Appl 21:1352–1364
Molton KJ, Brenden TO, Bence JR (2012) Control rule performance for intermixing lake whitefish populations in the 1836 treaty waters of the Great Lakes: a simulation-based evaluation. J Great Lakes Res 38:686–698
Moreira C, Froufe E, Sial AN, Caeiro A, Vax-Pires P, Correia AT (2018) Population structure of the blue jack mackerel (Trachurus picturatus) in the NE Atlantic inferred from otolith microchemistry. Fish Res 197:113–122
Myers RA, Mertz G, Bridson J (1997) Spatial scales of interannual recruitment variations of marine, anadromous, and freshwater fish. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:1400–1407
Olley R, Young RG, Closs GP, Kristensen EA, Bickel TO, Deans NA, Davey LN, Eggins SM (2011) Recruitment sources of brown trout identified by otolith trace element signatures. New Zeal J Mar Fresh 45:395–411
Pangle KL, Ludsin SA, Fryer BJ (2010) Otolith microchemistry as a stock identification tool for freshwater fishes: testing its limits in Lake Erie. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 67:1475–1489
Paton C, Hellstrom J, Paul B, Woodhead J, Hergt J (2011) Iolite: freeware for the visualization and processing of mass spectrometric data. J Anal Atom Spectrom 26:2508–2518
Pracheil BM, Hogan JD, Lyons J, McIntyre PB (2014) Using hard-part microchemistry to advance conservation and management of north American freshwater fishes. Fisheries 39:451–465
R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
Reichert JM, Fryer BJ, Pangle KL, Johnson TB, Tyson JT, Drelich AB, Ludsin SA (2010) River-plume use during the pelagic larval stage benefits recruitment of a lentic fish. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 67:987–1004
Rutherford E (1997) Evaluation of natural reproduction, stocking rates, and fishing regulations for steelhead Oncorhynchus mkiss, Chinook salmon O. tschawytscha, and coho salmon in Lake Michigan. Final Report, Project F-35-R-22, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division
Schoen LS, Student JJ, Hoffman JC, Sierzen ME, Uzarski DG (2016) Reconstructing fish movements between coastal wetland and nearshore habitats of the Great Lakes. Limnol Oceanogr 61:1800–1813
Seelbach PW, Whelan GE (1988) Identification and contribution of wild and hatchery steelhead stocks in Lake Michigan tributaries. Trans Am Fish Soc 117:444–451
Strauss RE (1986) Natural hybrids of the freshwater sculpins Cottus bairdi and Cottus cognatus (Pisces: Cottidae): electrophoretic and morphometric evidence. Am Midl Nat 115:87–105
Sturrock AM, Trueman CN, Milton JA, Waring CP, Cooper MJ, Hunter E (2014) Physiological influences can outweigh environmental signals in otolith microchemistry research. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 500:245–264
Tanner HA, Tody WH (2002) History of the Great Lakes salmon fishery: a Michigan perspective. In: Lynch KD, Jones ML, Taylor WW (eds) Sustaining north American salmon: perspectives across regions and disciplines. American fisheries society, Bethesda, pp 139–154
Tanner SE, Reis-Santos P, Cabral HN (2016) Otolith chemistry in stock delineation: a brief overview, current challenges and future prospects. Fish Res 173:206–213
Thayer SA, Loftus AJ (2013) Great Lakes recreational fisheries and their role in fisheries management and policy. In: Taylor WW, Lynch AJ, Leonard NJ (eds) Great Lakes fisheries policy & management: a binational perspective, 2nd edn. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, pp 399–439
Thresher RE (1999) Elemental composition of otoliths as a stock delineator in fishes. Fish Res 43:165–204
Tsehaye I, Jones ML, Bence JR, Brenden TO, Madenjian CP, Warner DM (2014) A multispecies statistical age-structured model to assess predator-prey balance: application to an intensively managed Lake Michigan pelagic fish community. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 71:627–644
Watson NM, Prichard CG, Jonas JL, Student JJ, Pangle KL (2018) Otolith-based discrimination of wild- and hatchery- origin steelhead across the Lake Michigan basin. N Am J Fish Manage (Accepted)
Weeder JA, Marshall AR, Epifanio JM (2005) An assessment of population genetic variation in Chinook salmon from seven Michigan rivers 30 years after introduction. N Am J Fish Manag 25:861–875
Wells BK, Rieman BE, Clayton JL, Horan DL, Jones CM (2003) Relationships between water, otolith, and scale chemistries of westslope cutthroat trout from the Coeur d’Alene River, Idaho: the potential application of hard-part chemistry to describe movements in freshwater. Trans Am Fish Soc 132:409–424
Yokoyama R, Goto A (2005) Evolutionary history of freshwater sculpins, genus Cottus (Teleostei; Cottidae) and related tax, as inferred from mitochondrial DNA phylogeny. Mol Phylogenet Evol 36:654–668
Acknowledgments
We thank Kyle Brumm and Kieran Elder for help with field sampling and preparation of otolith samples, as well as the many Michigan DNR biologists and technicians who helped collect samples. We also thank two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions greatly improved this manuscript. Funding for this research was provided by Central Michigan University and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (projects 1298 and 1552). The Institutional Animal Care and Use committee of Central Michigan University has approved this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Prichard, C.G., Jonas, J.L., Student, J.J. et al. Same habitat, different species: otolith microchemistry relationships between migratory and resident species support interspecific natal source classification. Environ Biol Fish 101, 1025–1038 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-018-0756-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-018-0756-9