Marine Ecology Progress Series
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14928
copiedVariation in food resource use differs between marine residents and river migrants in the Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus
ABSTRACT:
Partial migration, whereby some individuals migrate to non-natal habitats while others remain in natal habitats, can be maintained by trade-offs between survival and fecundity potential. The Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus is a marine-spawning carnivorous fish that exhibits partial migration, with some juveniles and adults migrating to rivers in spring and summer and returning to the sea in winter. Given the minimal differences in growth rate at maturity between marine residents and river migrants, resource partitioning within a contingent is a potentially important factor in maintaining the river migrants. This study examined differences in feeding ecology, specifically trophic niche width and individual specialization, between marine residents and river migrants of Japanese seabass from Tango Bay and the Yura River using stable isotope analysis of multiple tissues. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of muscle and liver tissues, which reflect long- and short-term dietary information, were used to estimate trophic niche width and individual specialization. Trophic niche overlap rates between marine residents and river migrants were 17.5% for adults and 0% for juveniles in muscle tissues, suggesting niche partitioning between contingents. Total niche width was larger in river migrants than in marine residents, with individual specialization observed only in river migrants. These findings indicate that individual specialization among river migrants may enhance resource availability within contingents, reducing density dependence in the more resource-limited river habitats.
KEYWORDS
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Ayano Medo (Corresponding Author)
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 2-509-3 Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan
Daichi Kojima (Co-author)
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Toshihiro Wada (Co-author)
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan
Hiromichi Mitamura (Co-author)
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Manabu Kume (Co-author)
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Ishinomaki Senshu University, 1 Shinmito, Minamisakai, Ishinomaki, Miyagi 986-8580, Japan
Yoh Yamashita (Co-author)
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Handling Editor:
Myron Peck, Den Burg, The Netherlands
Reviewers:
B.H. Roberts and 2 anonymous referees
Acknowledgements:
We thank the joint research facility, Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, for stable isotope analyses using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. We acknowledge Dr. Emily S. Antonio for providing access to the published data of stable isotope ratios from Antonio et al. (2012). We are grateful to Dr. Nobuhito Ohte for coordinating with the joint research facilities. We thank Mr. Masahiro Manano, Dr. Shun Watanabe, Dr. Hiroaki Murakami, Dr. Yuki Terashima, Dr. Kotaro Ichikawa, Dr. Mari Kuroki, Mr. Kazuha Takai, and Mr. Akira Funamoto for their help with fieldwork and fish sampling. Finally, we acknowledge Maizuru-Tai, Higashi-Kanzaki, and Kunda stations, the Fisheries Cooperative Associations of Kyoto Prefecture, and Mizushima fish shop for providing fish samples. This study was partly supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant number 20H00432) and by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society (grant number 2022-4077).