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Trophic variability of Arctic fishes in the Canadian Beaufort Sea: a fatty acids and stable isotopes approach

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Abstract

Trophic ecology of most demersal Arctic fishes remains one of the major knowledge gaps for understanding food web dynamics and connectivity among ecosystems. In this study, fatty acids (FA) and stable isotopes (SI) were used to study the feeding ecology of seven species (n = 106) of the most abundant benthic fishes (eelpouts, sculpins and agonids) in the Canadian Beaufort Sea from shallow (20–75 m), slope (200–350 m) and deep (500–1000 m) habitats. Both FA and SI results revealed among- and within-species variability in diet composition. Correspondence analysis of FA signatures identified high within-species variability in diet, resulting in high overlap among species. Calanus-derived FA were present in all species (Calanus markers up to 13 % of total FA) and were particularly important in Ribbed Sculpin, Adolf’s and Longear Eelpout collected in deep habitats, suggesting a strong contribution of pelagic-derived FA to benthic fish communities. Incorporation of this signal in the benthos may result from either direct consumption of deep overwintering copepods (i.e., off-bottom feeding) or through detrital accumulation in benthic invertebrate prey. Mean SI values differed among species and indicated that a large range of trophic positions (δ15N varied from 14.09 to 17.71 ‰ for Canadian Eelpout and Adolf’s Eelpout, respectively) and carbon dietary sources are preyed upon (δ13C range from −21.13 to −23.85 ‰ for Longear Eelpout and Ribbed Sculpin, respectively). SI analyses suggested that most species examined were low- to mid-trophic generalist benthic carnivores, with the exception of Ribbed Sculpin, which was a low-trophic pelagic predator.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript. This study was funded through the Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (a joint initiative of the Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit of the Western Canadian Arctic), the Environmental Studies Research Fund and Program on Energy Research and Development, both administered by Natural Resources Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (both regular program funding and International Governance Strategy strategic funding). Additional contributions through Arctic Net, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (HS, MP) and scholarships to AS and EC are acknowledged. We thank the ship’s crew of the Frosti and the science crew aboard in 2012, particularly those sampling the fishes (S. Atchison, C. Ruben, L. Edenfield), for their efforts under trying environmental conditions and Peter Rask Möller for zoarcid taxonomy. Laboratory assistance was provided by Ryan Donkersgoed.

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  1. Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Carolina Giraldo, Emily S. Choy, Bruno Rosenberg, Andrew Majewski, Lisa Loseto & James D. Reist

  2. University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Ashley Stasko, Michael Power & Heidi Swanson

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  1. Carolina Giraldo
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  2. Ashley Stasko
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Correspondence to Carolina Giraldo.

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Giraldo, C., Stasko, A., Choy, E.S. et al. Trophic variability of Arctic fishes in the Canadian Beaufort Sea: a fatty acids and stable isotopes approach. Polar Biol 39, 1267–1282 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1851-4

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