Stable isotope analysis provides novel insights for measuring lake ecosystem recovery following acidification 🏭 🐟
J.C. Dawson, B.A. Edwards, M.M. Guzzo, J.M. Gunn, E.J.S. Emilson, and K.S. McCann
Unstable and simplified freshwater food webs impair the resilience of Canadian fisheries facing environmental stressors. This study utilizes stable isotope analyses to assess trophic recovery to explore the resilience of food webs in lakes historically impacted by metal mining in Sudbury, Ontario. Stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) were quantified in yellow perch (Perca flavescens), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and baseline organisms to develop quantitative population metrics and describe dietary niche partitioning. The most severely damaged lake with a barren watershed had the lowest trophic positioning, smallest body size and niche area, and greatest niche overlap among fish species. The semi-barren and intact watershed lakes were more similar to reference lakes in isotopic metrics, however elevated niche overlap revealed recovery in these lakes is still ongoing. We found that including stable isotope analyses in lake recovery studies provided critical insights overlooked by traditional biomonitoring approaches.
In no particular order:
- Jade Dawson -
@jadedaws - Erik Emilson -
@ErikEmilson - Matthew Guzzo -
@mattguzzo12 - Brie Edwards
- Kevin McCann -
- John Gunn