Stable isotopes reveal life history polymorphism in the coastal fish Apogon notatus

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 362:279-289 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07397 Stable isotopes reveal life history polymorphism in the coastal fish Apogon notatus Kayoko Fukumori1,2,*, Noboru Okuda2, Hideki Hamaoka1, Toru Fukumoto3, Daisuke Takahashi1,4, Koji Omori1 1Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan 2Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 509-3, 2-chome, Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan 3Saga Prefectural Genkai Fisheries Research and Development Center, 6966 Nagoya, Chinzei-cho, Karatsu 847-0401, Japan 4Present address: Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan *Email: [e-mail]. Present address: Shiga ABSTRACT: In the coastal marine fish Apogon notatus most individuals emigrate from the neritic breeding ground in winter and return there in the following spring (migratory type), while some individuals reside in the neritic habitat throughout the year (resident type). In the present study, we conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to estimate their winter migration routes and to elucidate the underlying spatial heterogeneity in the food web structure of the coastal ecosystem, and compared the results with those of A. semilineatus, a deepwater congener. A. notatus fed on a variety of zooplankton and zoobenthos in the neritic habitat, whereas A. semilineatus fed on pelagic mysids exclusively. The former showed more enriched δ13C than did the latter, indicating strong reliance on benthic production. Such a difference in stable isotope ratio was attributed to spatial heterogeneity in the coastal food web structure: benthic microalgal production predominates in the neritic food web, while the pelagic deepwater food web is characterized by phytoplankton production. After returning from winter migration, A. notatus showed marked depletion of δ13C compared to its non-migratory counterpart residing in the neritic habitat. Thereafter, the migratory type showed enrichment of δ13C during its stay in the neritic breeding ground, approaching that of the resident type. The results suggest that most A. notatus migrated to the deepwater habitat and spent a couple of winter months there. Stable isotope analysis revealed that life history polymorphism (i.e. migratory and resident types) exists in the A. notatus population. KEY WORDS: Migration · Stable isotope analysis · Dietary analysis · Non-diadromous fish · Food web Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Fukumori K, Okuda N, Hamaoka H, Fukumoto T, Takahashi D, Omori K (2008) Stable isotopes reveal life history polymorphism in the coastal fish Apogon notatus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 362:279-289. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07397Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 362. Online publication date: June 30, 2008 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.