Diet and trophic niche space and overlap of Lake Ontario salmonid species using stable isotopes and stomach contents

Mumby, James A.; Larocque, Sarah M.; Johnson, Timothy B.; Stewart, Theodor J.; Fitzsimons, John D.; Weidel, Brian C.; Walsh, Maureen G.; Lantry, Jana R.; Yuille, Michael J.; Fisk, Aaron T.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2018.08.009

Cited by 45 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Prior knowledge about the depth and temperature occupancies of these species in Lake Ontario based on sporadic fishery surveys (Elrod, O’Gorman, & Schneider, ; Stewart & Bowlby, ), in combination with a broader knowledge base about their biology, led us to predict that lake trout would occupy colder and deeper waters than would Chinook salmon. The data presented here complement recently published stable isotope data about diet overlap between these species (Mumby et al, ; Yuille et al, ), and provide the best characterization to date of the thermal and vertical niche segregation/overlap between the two species. As such, this study is relevant to discussions among fishery managers and stakeholders in the Great Lakes about the intensity of competition for resources (physical space, prey, temperature) between native and non‐native predators.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Chinook salmon are known to almost exclusively consume alewife in Lake Ontario (Jones, Koonce, & Gorman, ), and have one of the two smallest isotopic niche widths among salmonids there (Mumby et al, ; Yuille et al, ). In their native range, adult Chinook salmon forage primarily on another schooling pelagic fish, Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii ; Healey, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, their diet has shifted to include more round goby ( Neogobius melanostomus ), a non‐native benthic species (Colborne et al, ; Rush et al, ). However, the diet of lake trout in Lake Ontario remains diverse and continues to include substantial contributions from alewife and rainbow smelt; as such, their collective isotopic niche is larger than any of the other salmonids in the lake (Mumby et al, ; Yuille, Fisk, Stewart, & Johnson, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Pop‐off data storage tags reveal niche partitioning between native and non‐native predators in a novel ecosystem

Raby

Johnson

Kessel

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Niche partitioning might be predicted to be particularly dynamic in 'novel ecosystems' characterized by human-altered environmental conditions and biological invasions. Restoration efforts for native species in such systems can be informed by detailed characterization of niche partitioning.2. In Lake Ontario, fishery management agencies have been engaged in a long-term struggle to restore native top predators including lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Meanwhile, management agencies continue to stock non-native species like Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) into the lake to support a recreational fishery and to help control the abundance of a non-native forage fish, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus).3. We used pop-off data storage tags to study fine scale (9.1M lines of data from 22 animals) behaviour and habitat use by lake trout (native) and Chinook salmon (non-native) in Lake Ontario in terms of depth and temperature, recorded at ≤70 s intervals for periods of up to 12 months. 4. Chinook salmon occupied warmer and shallower waters during summer than did lake trout, and their niche breadth was wider. They achieved greater niche breadth in part because they were much more active vertically, cumulatively traveling 103 ± 1 m/hour during summer (model-estimated median), whereas most lake trout were relatively inactive vertically (7 ± 1 m/hour). In each of our analyses, there was more inter-individual variation among lake trout than among Chinook salmon, driven by some lake trout that spent considerable time making forays into warmer, shallower waters. Synthesis and applications.Our results illustrate the different foraging tactics used by two species in the Great Lakes and reflect their distinct life histories. Physical niche partitioning between Chinook salmon and lake trout helps to explain how these species can co-exist in a multi-species fishery even while having overlap in diet. The diversity of behaviours exhibited here by native lake trout have likely helped them persist during dramatic changes to the forage base in recent decades; that flexibility could help underlie their long-term prospects for restoration during future changes to the ecosystem.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Pop‐off data storage tags reveal niche partitioning between native and non‐native predators in a novel ecosystem

Raby

Johnson

Kessel

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The upper trophic position and longer lifespan (5-15 yr) as well as pelagic foraging and highly mobile behavior of these species means that their diets will incorporate a broad range of resources from across the lake (Rush et al 2012;Guiry et al 2016b;Fera et al 2017), providing a time-averaged perspective on processes affecting the nitrogen cycle at a lake-wide, multiseasonal scale. A comparison of isotopic variation among three taxa, each with a different behavioral strategy and trophic position (Holm et al 2009;Fera et al 2017;Mumby et al 2018), should make isotopic trends associated with dietary shifts at the species level (Kiriluk et al 1995;van der Merwe et al 2003;Lumb and Johnson 2012;Rush et al 2012;Yuille et al 2015;Colborne et al 2016;Guiry et al 2016b;Fera et al 2017;Mumby et al 2018). For sediment data sourced from the literature: LO G32-93, LO H32-94 , and LO 1/3 (McFadden et al 2004).…”

Section: Sample Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interpretations also include previously published data from archaeological (n = 68; van derMerwe et al 2003;Guiry et al 2016b) and modern(post-1958 CE; n = 819;Kiriluk et al 1995;Lumb and Johnson 2012;Rush et al 2012;Yuille et al 2015;Colborne et al 2016;Fera et al 2017;Mumby et al 2018) specimens. ZooMS analyses of 290 samples confirmed or helped to refine 244 nonspecies taxonomic identifications provided through bone morphology analyses by zooarchaeologists (it confirmed the identification for 225 of these 244 specimens and refined it to the level of species for the remaining 19).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Deforestation caused abrupt shift in Great Lakes nitrogen cycle

Guiry

Buckley

Orchard

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the longstanding significance of North America's Great Lakes, little is known about their preindustrial ecology. Here, we report on when and how humans first became a main driver of Lake Ontario's nutrient dynamics. Nitrogen isotope analyses of archaeological fish show that, prior to the 1830s, Lake Ontario's nitrogen cycle and the trophic ecology of its top predators had remained stable for at least 800 yrs, despite Indigenous and historical European agricultural land management across the region. An abrupt shift in the nitrogen isotope composition of Lake Ontario's fish community is evident in the early to mid-19 th century and reflects the initiation of industrial-scale forest clearance. These data show how the nitrogenous nutrient regimes of even the world's largest freshwater ecosystems can be highly sensitive to short-term watershed forest cover disturbances and indicate a profound shift in the relationship between humans and their environment.

show abstract

Realized thermal niche approach eliminates temperature bias in bioenergetic model estimates

Ivanova,

Fisk,

Johnson

2024

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bioenergetics models estimate ectotherm growth, production, and prey consumption – all key for effective ecosystem management during changing global temperatures. Based on species‐specific allometric and thermodynamic relationships, these models typically use the species' lab‐derived optimum temperatures (physiological optimum) as opposed to empirical field data (realized thermal niche) that reflect actual thermal experience. Yet, dynamic behavioral thermoregulation mediated by biotic and abiotic interactions may provide substantial divergence between physiological optimum and realized thermal niche temperatures to significantly bias model outcomes. Here, using the Wisconsin bioenergetics model and in‐situ year‐round temperature data, we tested the two approaches and compared the maximum attainable lifetime weight and lifetime prey consumption estimates for two salmonid species with differing life histories. We demonstrate that using the realized thermal niche is the better approach because it eliminates significant biases in estimates produced by the physiological optimum. Specifically, using the physiological optimum, slower‐growing Salvelinus namaycush maximum attainable lifetime weight was underestimated, and consumption overestimated, while fast‐growing Oncorhynchus tshawytscha maximum attainable weight was overestimated. While the physiological optimum approach is useful for theoretical studies, our results demonstrate the critical importance that models used by management utilize up‐to‐date system‐ and species‐specific field data representing actual in‐situ behaviors (i.e., realized thermal niche).

show abstract

Diet and trophic niche space and overlap of Lake Ontario salmonid species using stable isotopes and stomach contents

Cited by 45 publications

References 66 publications

Pop‐off data storage tags reveal niche partitioning between native and non‐native predators in a novel ecosystem

Pop‐off data storage tags reveal niche partitioning between native and non‐native predators in a novel ecosystem

Deforestation caused abrupt shift in Great Lakes nitrogen cycle

Realized thermal niche approach eliminates temperature bias in bioenergetic model estimates

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About