Inter-Research > MEPS > v637 > p181-194  
MEPS
Marine Ecology Progress Series

via Mailchimp

MEPS 637:181-194 (2020)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13247

Stable isotope analysis of eye lenses from invasive lionfish yields record of resource use

Joseph S. Curtis1,3,*, Mark A. Albins1,2, Ernst B. Peebles1, Christopher D. Stallings1

1University of South Florida College of Marine Science, St Petersburg, FL 33705, USA
2University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL 36528, USA
3Present address: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Patterns of stable isotopes recorded in metabolically stable, serially synthesized, structures such as eye lenses can yield robust descriptions of resource use across the life histories of individual fish. We performed stable isotope analysis of eye lenses sampled from invasive lionfishes Pterois spp. and a potentially competitive native mesopredator, the graysby Cephalopholis cruentata, to compare lifelong patterns of trophic resource use on a coral reef ledge in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA. In both lionfishes and graysby, stable isotope values increased logarithmically with eye-lens radius, likely reflecting increases in trophic position with growth. Tissue samples toward the interior of the lens were the most isotopically similar between lionfish and graysby, suggesting interspecific resource use overlap may be strongest in smaller fish. We observed substantial variation in isotopic chronologies around the underlying logarithmic trend within individual fish, potentially driven by patterns of movement across measured environmental isotopic gradients, intraspecific variation in resource use specificity, or other ecological variables of interest. These results are the first to describe patterns of size-structured resource use across the life of individual lionfish, an important objective for researchers studying the interactions of this highly invasive species with the surrounding ecological communities. Additionally, through this example, we illustrate analytical approaches and considerations for the application of eye-lens stable isotope analysis to the study of vertebrate ecology.


KEY WORDS: Isoscape · Competition · Habitat use · Trophic growth · Ontogeny · Reef ecology


Full text in pdf format
Supplementary material
Cite this article as: Curtis JS, Albins MA, Peebles EB, Stallings CD (2020) Stable isotope analysis of eye lenses from invasive lionfish yields record of resource use. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 637:181-194. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13247

Export citation
Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn

 Previous article Next article