Historical trophic structure of two diadromous fish species using compound specific isotope analysis of archived tissue

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Diadromous fishes (migratory between freshwater and saltwater), such as Atlantic Salmon and Striped Bass, are important to Canada for their ecological as well as economic, cultural, and human subsistence value. In recent decades, the number of Atlantic Salmon returning to the Miramichi River has declined to historic lows, whereas Striped Bass abundance has had a dramatic recovery. The causes of these variations remain unknown in part because the history of the feeding ecology of these fish populations is not well understood. Our project will reveal the history of the feeding position of these two predatory species with an emerging and powerful laboratory approach referred to as compound-specific isotopic analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA). Our alliance capitalizes on state-of-the-art lab techniques and equipment from Université de Moncton and on an existing long-term Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) scale archive (1960-2019) of Atlantic salmon and Striped Bass from the Miramichi River. This alliance will join DFO scientists with analytical chemists from Université de Moncton in collaboration to advance the application of CSIA-AA to study feeding ecology. The diverse scientific backgrounds of the partners and collaborators involved represent an opportunity for innovation and training. Trainees will acquire advanced skills that will be unique in New Brunswick. The knowledge gained from this work will be novel and timely as stakeholders demand that fisheries management consider more environmental information in their decision making. Further, CSIA-AA has a promising future as a tracer with applications to many fields.