Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska
Conservation of Arctic fish species is challenging partly due to our limited ability to track fish through time and space, which constrains our understanding of life history diversity and lifelong habitat use. Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus ) is an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Arcti...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 |
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crplos:10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 2024-05-19T07:35:25+00:00 Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska Leppi, Jason C. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Brown, Randy J. Spaleta, Karen J. Whitman, Matthew S. Fujiwara, Masami The Wilderness Society National Science Foundation U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Bureau of Land Management the state of Alaska U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Native Village of Nuiqsut Tribal Council 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 en eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ PLOS ONE volume 17, issue 5, page e0259921 ISSN 1932-6203 journal-article 2022 crplos https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 2024-05-01T06:58:40Z Conservation of Arctic fish species is challenging partly due to our limited ability to track fish through time and space, which constrains our understanding of life history diversity and lifelong habitat use. Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus ) is an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Arctic Indigenous communities, yet little is known about life history diversity, migration patterns, and freshwater habitat use. Using laser ablation Sr isotope otolith microchemistry, we analyzed Colville River Broad Whitefish 87 Sr/ 86 Sr chronologies (n = 61) to reconstruct movements and habitat use across the lives of individual fish. We found evidence of at least six life history types, including three anadromous types, one semi-anadromous type, and two nonanadromous types. Anadromous life history types comprised a large proportion of individuals sampled (collectively, 59%) and most of these (59%) migrated to sea between ages 0–2 and spent varying durations at sea. The semi-anadromous life history type comprised 28% of samples and entered marine habitat as larvae. Nonanadromous life history types comprised the remainder (collectively, 13%). Otolith 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data from juvenile and adult freshwater stages suggest that habitat use changed in association with age, seasons, and life history strategies. This information on Broad Whitefish life histories and habitat use across time and space will help managers and conservation planners better understand the risks of anthropogenic impacts and help conserve this vital subsistence resource. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Alaska PLOS PLOS ONE 17 5 e0259921 |
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English |
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Conservation of Arctic fish species is challenging partly due to our limited ability to track fish through time and space, which constrains our understanding of life history diversity and lifelong habitat use. Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus ) is an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Arctic Indigenous communities, yet little is known about life history diversity, migration patterns, and freshwater habitat use. Using laser ablation Sr isotope otolith microchemistry, we analyzed Colville River Broad Whitefish 87 Sr/ 86 Sr chronologies (n = 61) to reconstruct movements and habitat use across the lives of individual fish. We found evidence of at least six life history types, including three anadromous types, one semi-anadromous type, and two nonanadromous types. Anadromous life history types comprised a large proportion of individuals sampled (collectively, 59%) and most of these (59%) migrated to sea between ages 0–2 and spent varying durations at sea. The semi-anadromous life history type comprised 28% of samples and entered marine habitat as larvae. Nonanadromous life history types comprised the remainder (collectively, 13%). Otolith 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data from juvenile and adult freshwater stages suggest that habitat use changed in association with age, seasons, and life history strategies. This information on Broad Whitefish life histories and habitat use across time and space will help managers and conservation planners better understand the risks of anthropogenic impacts and help conserve this vital subsistence resource. |
author2 |
Fujiwara, Masami The Wilderness Society National Science Foundation U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Bureau of Land Management the state of Alaska U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Native Village of Nuiqsut Tribal Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leppi, Jason C. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Brown, Randy J. Spaleta, Karen J. Whitman, Matthew S. |
spellingShingle |
Leppi, Jason C. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Brown, Randy J. Spaleta, Karen J. Whitman, Matthew S. Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
author_facet |
Leppi, Jason C. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Brown, Randy J. Spaleta, Karen J. Whitman, Matthew S. |
author_sort |
Leppi, Jason C. |
title |
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
title_short |
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
title_full |
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska |
title_sort |
strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for broad whitefish (coregonus nasus) in arctic, alaska |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 |
genre |
Arctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Alaska |
op_source |
PLOS ONE volume 17, issue 5, page e0259921 ISSN 1932-6203 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259921 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
e0259921 |
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1799474062198571008 |