Abstract
Otolith microchemistry has emerged as a powerful technique with which to identify the natal origins of fishes, but it relies on differences in underlying geology that may occur over large spatial scales. An examination of how small a spatial scale on which this technique can be implemented, especially in water bodies that share a large proportion of their flow, would be useful for guiding aquatic invasive species control efforts. We examined trace isotopic signatures in northern pike (Esox lucius) otoliths to estimate their provenance between two reservoirs in the Upper Yampa River Basin, Colorado, USA. This is a challenging study area as these reservoirs are only 11-rkm apart on the same river and thus share a high proportion of their inflow. We found that three isotopes (86Sr, 137Ba, and 55Mn) were useful in discriminating between these reservoirs, but their signatures varied annually, and the values overlapped. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) were different between sites and relatively stable across three years, which made them an ideal marker for determining northern pike provenance. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of otolith microchemistry for natal origin determination within the same river over a relatively small spatial scale when there are geologic differences between sites, especially geologic differences underlying tributaries between sites.
Highlights
The control of nonnative species is critical for conservation, and piscivore management typically focuses on the system-wide removal of nonnative fishes accompanied by management efforts to reintroduce or enhance populations of those that are native [4,5]
Age-0 assumed that age-0 northern pike collected in our study were captured in the reservoir in assumed that age-0 northern pike collected in our study were captured in the reservoir in which they hatched, and we believe that this is a reasonable assumption for the following which they hatched, and we believe that this is a reasonable assumption for the following reasons.To
Strontium isotopic signatures were more stable in Stagecoach Reservoir, though the concentration did increase in 2007 (896 ± 28 ppm) compared to 2005 (750 ± 34 ppm) and 2006 (787 ± 44 ppm)
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Invasive species can have a strong negative influence on aquatic communities, and invasive piscivores are a contributing factor in the decline of native fish populations worldwide [1,2,3]. The control of nonnative species is critical for conservation, and piscivore management typically focuses on the system-wide removal of nonnative fishes accompanied by management efforts to reintroduce or enhance populations of those that are native [4,5]. Controlling established nonnative piscivores is problematic and is frequently unsuccessful [2,6,7]. The success or failure of removal efforts depends on the probability of reinvasion and an understanding of the sources of established nonnative piscivores
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