Temukan di Perpustakaan

Integrated otolith chemistry and muscle tissue stable isotope analyses were performed to allocate juvenile <i>Diplodus puntazzo</i> and <i>Diplodus vulgaris</i> to nurseries in the Adriatic Sea. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to quantify the concentrations of chemical elements in the otoliths. Fish muscle samples were analysed for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N. In general, Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios and isotopes varied between sites and species. Values of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were significantly different between species and sites. Multivariate analysis detected a significant difference in the element signature between species while there was no evidence for a significant interaction for sites. A clear pattern across the four groups of interest, <i>D. puntazzo</i>_Estuary > <i>D. vulgaris</i>_Estuary > <i>D. puntazzo</i>_Coastal > <i>D. vulgaris</i>_Coastal, following decreases in δ¹³C, and increases in δ¹⁵N were found. It seems that these species are feeding on the same local food web within more productive estuarine site while at costal site, feeding segregation among investigated species is evident. Both species were re-allocated correctly to the estuarine waters based on the otolith chemistry and stable isotopes information and higher value of δ¹⁵N. Combining otolith chemistry with tissue isotope ratios of juvenile fish provided complementary information on nursery habitat use at different spatial scales and elucidated ecological and environmental linkages.