Presentation Abstract
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), low trophic level fish at the base of many pelagic food webs, are integral to coastal social-ecological systems in North America. This migratory species provides a temporal subsidy to coastal systems by moving from offshore to nearshore waters for annual spawning events. Spawning migrations support subsistence and commercial fisheries, and provide an ecological pulse in prey availability. In coastal British Columbia, we quantified changes in rockfish (Sebastes maliger and caurinus) diet composition surrounding spawn events to understand the temporal importance of this subsidy. We found that the percentage of fish in rockfish diets switched from 30% fish tissue pre spawn to 34% herring roe post spawn, and that this shift peaked at 2-3 weeks post spawn events. This dietary change is most pronounced in females, where herring roe accounted for an average of 29% of stomach contents through the month following a spawn event. This may be due to differences in energy requirements for gravid females. Stable isotope concentrations of fish tissues (muscle, heart, liver, gonads) also showed evidence of herring nutrient assimilation. Determining these ecosystem-level associations is key to understanding both the social and ecological consequences of herring spawn declines.
Session Title
Session S-03D: Forage Fish Research and Protection in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
30-4-2014 3:30 PM
End Date
30-4-2014 5:00 PM
Location
Room 611-612
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Pacific herring--Spawning--Research--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
British Columbia; Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Pacific Herring Spawns Provide Temporal Subsidies to Nearshore Ecosystems
Room 611-612
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), low trophic level fish at the base of many pelagic food webs, are integral to coastal social-ecological systems in North America. This migratory species provides a temporal subsidy to coastal systems by moving from offshore to nearshore waters for annual spawning events. Spawning migrations support subsistence and commercial fisheries, and provide an ecological pulse in prey availability. In coastal British Columbia, we quantified changes in rockfish (Sebastes maliger and caurinus) diet composition surrounding spawn events to understand the temporal importance of this subsidy. We found that the percentage of fish in rockfish diets switched from 30% fish tissue pre spawn to 34% herring roe post spawn, and that this shift peaked at 2-3 weeks post spawn events. This dietary change is most pronounced in females, where herring roe accounted for an average of 29% of stomach contents through the month following a spawn event. This may be due to differences in energy requirements for gravid females. Stable isotope concentrations of fish tissues (muscle, heart, liver, gonads) also showed evidence of herring nutrient assimilation. Determining these ecosystem-level associations is key to understanding both the social and ecological consequences of herring spawn declines.
