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COMPARISON OF STABLE-NITROGEN (15N/14N) ISOTOPE RATIOS IN LARGE MOUTH BASS SCALES AND MUSCLE TISSUE
Citation:
Ryba, S, J L. Lake, AND F Osterman. COMPARISON OF STABLE-NITROGEN (15N/14N) ISOTOPE RATIOS IN LARGE MOUTH BASS SCALES AND MUSCLE TISSUE. Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, November 16-20, 2002.
Description:
Stable-nitrogen (15N/14N) isotope ratios of fish tissue are currently used to determine trophic structure, contaminant bioaccumulation, and the level of anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment in aquatic systems. The most common tissue used for these measurements is fileted dorsal muscle The development of a relationship between 15N in scales and muscle tissue will offer researchers a non lethal sampling technique, as well as the ability to measure historical trends in nitrogen isotope signals from archived fish scale collections. Nitrogen isotope values were measured in the scales and dorsal muscle tissue of 31 largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from 12 small freshwater sites, of varying levels of nutrient enrichment, in Rhode Island, USA. Stable-nitrogen isotope ratios ranged from 7.1 - 14.1 ? and 8.5 - 16.1 ? for scales and muscle, respectively. The average difference between scale and muscle 15N values was 2.04?. Analysis of variance was performed and a significant linear relationship was observed between scale and muscle tissue 15N values (p<0.01). The coefficient of determination was 0.9074. These results support the further development of a predictive tool using fish scales for estimating stable nitrogen isotope ratio in fish muscle.