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Diet and trophic position of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) inferred from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis

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Abstract

Stable 13C and 15N isotope analyses of scale, bone, and muscle tissues were used to investigate diet and trophic position of North Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus) during residency in the northwest Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of the United States. Adult bluefin tuna scales collected from fish between June and October 2001 were significantly enriched in 13C compared to both muscle and bone across all months, while muscle was significantly enriched in 15N compared to either bone or scale throughout the same period. In muscle tissue, there was evidence of a shift over the summer from prey with δ13C values (−17‰ to −18‰) that were characteristic of silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) to species with δ13C values of −20‰ to −21‰ that were similar to Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and sandlance (Ammodytes americanus). Depletion of 15N values in adult scales and bone compared to muscle tissue may be explained by bone and scale samples representing juvenile or life-long feeding habits, isotopic routing, or isotopic differences in amino acid composition of the three tissue types. Adult bluefin tuna were estimated to be feeding at a trophic position similar to pelagic sharks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, while the trophic positions of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga), and juvenile bluefin tuna were indicative of a diet of up to a full trophic position below adult bluefin tuna. The close relationship between the juvenile bluefin δ15N values and those of suspension feeders suggests that nektonic crustaceans or zooplankton may contribute significantly to the diet of bluefin tuna, a food source previously overlooked for this species in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all employees and affiliates of Cape Quality Bluefin, Fresh Water Fish, and Nantucket Fishing Cooperative for their invaluable help and cooperation. We also thank the Boston University Marine Program, particularly J. Atema and P. Lobel, for providing laboratory space and guidance, G. Skomal for his expertise and aid in obtaining samples, J. Goldstein for providing prey samples, J. FitzGerald for help with the statistical analyses and comments on the manuscript, and everyone at the Colorado Plateau Stable Isotopes Laboratory for analyzing samples in a timely manner. This work was supported by National Marine Fisheries Service grant NA16MF1323 to M. Lutcavage. Partial support was also provided by NSF grant OCE-0134998 to S. Thorrold. This work represents WHOI contribution no. 11262.

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  1. J. A. Estrada

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, 04005, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University Marine Program, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    J. A. Estrada

  2. Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    M. Lutcavage

  3. Biology Department MS 35, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    S. R. Thorrold

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  1. J. A. Estrada
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  2. M. Lutcavage
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  3. S. R. Thorrold
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Correspondence to S. R. Thorrold.

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Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick

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Estrada, J.A., Lutcavage, M. & Thorrold, S.R. Diet and trophic position of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) inferred from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. Marine Biology 147, 37–45 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1541-1

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