DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1t
title: Otolith and muscle stable isotope analyses to assess food-web interactions between threatened bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) and invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

description: Long-lived bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) are declining and a
 species of special concern in central Canada whose densities may be
 impacted by invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio). In addition, the
 bigmouth buffalo is a culturally important species for the File Hills
 Qu’Appelle Tribal Council Member First Nations, who have harvested them
 since time immemorial. Here we analyzed d13C and d15N in bigmouth buffalo
 and common carp muscle tissue, along with bulk and compound-specific
 amino-acid d15N of otoliths, to examine the food-web interactions of
 species over the past 100 years. Stable isotope ratios of muscle tissue
 inferred that the fishes generally occupied different isotopic niches,
 with bigmouth buffalo exhibiting greater evidence of pelagic feeding
 (mean±SD; 88±22% and 42±13% in two lakes), and higher trophic position
 (3.6±0.3 and 3.8±0.3) than common carp (74±11% and 33±13%; 3.2±0.4 and
 3.4±0.3, respectively). Overall, modern otolith isotope values agreed with
 paired muscle isotope values, while bulk otolith material exhibited
 increased d15N over a century. Apparent isotopic niche differentiation
 between the species may have arisen from ongoing niche displacement by
 common carp following watershed invasion ca. 1955. This competition may be
 more intense for larger bigmouth buffalo.
description: # Otolith and muscle stable isotope analyses to assess food-web
 interactions between threatened bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus)
 and invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1t](10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1t) ## Description of the
 data and file structure otolith data_stable isotope_with overview
 header_Dryad.csv: otolith stable isotope data * Échantillon: the sample ID
 run at the isotope facility - otolith δ15N: otolith delta 15 Nitrogen –
 stable isotope measurement from otolith * Muscle d15N: muscle delta 15
 Nitrogen – stable isotope measurement from muscle tissue - Muscle-Oto:
 Muscle d15N - otolith δ15N * Taxon: species of fish - Sample timeframe:
 timeframe of otolith subsample from start to end year * Start: start year
 of otolith subsample - End: end year of otolith subsample * Midpoint:
 midpoint year of otolith subsample - Era: era of year midpoint estimate
 (post-dam or pre-dam) * Vial ID: the vial ID run at the isotope facility -
 Sample type: otolith sample type (Complete, Early, or Late) * Individual
 fish: ID of the individual fish - Collected: Date fish was collected
 (d-month-yy) * \~Age: estimate age of the fish in years - Masskg: mass of
 the fish in kilograms * Sex: sex of the fish (F = female, M = Male) -
 TLcm: total length of the fish in centimeters * Location: Site of
 collection of the fish Missing data: null Note about yellow highlighting:
 yellow highlighted portions of rows indicate redundant biometric
 information for a given individual fish (listed 2X because of the Early
 vs. Late subsample from same individual fish)  muscle and baseline
 data_stable isotope_with overview header_Dryad.csv: muscle and baseline
 stable isotope data * Date: sample collection date (d-month- yy) - Group:
 broad taxonomic grouping of organism(s) * Taxon: more specific taxonomic
 grouping of organism(s); BGBF = bigmouth buffalo; CMCR = common carp; POM
 = particulate organic matter - Lake: lake of sample collection * Location:
 more specific location of sample location within lake - Specimen ID: ID of
 specimen, when available * Sex: sex of fish, when available - Length (cm):
 total length of fish in centimeters, when available * Weight (kg): weight
 of fish in kilograms, when available - Acoustic ID: acoustic ID of fish,
 when available * d13C (muscle): delta 13C of muscle tissue - d15N
 (muscle): delta 15N of muscle tissue * d15N oto late: delta 15N of otolith
 (Late subsample), when available - %C muscle: % Carbon in muscle tissue *
 %N muscle: % Nitrogen in muscle tissue - C/N muscle: Carbon to Nitrogen
 ratio in muscle tissue * d'13C muscle: delta 13C (corrected) of
 muscle tissue (applying formula) - % pelagic: % pelagic of organism
 derived from muscle tissue (applying formula) * Baseline: baseline measure
 (applying formula) for trophic position estimation - Trophic position:
 Trophic position of organism derived from muscle tissue (applying formula)
 Missing data: null  CSIA-AA data_otolith_with overview header_Dryad.csv: *
 IF ID: Isotope facility sample ID - Fish ID: individual fish ID *
 Location: Sample site (lake) where fish was collected - Species: Species
 of fish * bulk otolith d15N: bulk otolith delta15N - bulk muscle d15N:
 bulk muscle delta15N * Age: age estimate in years - Mass (kg): mass of the
 fish in kilograms * Tlength (cm): total length of the fish in centimeters
 - Year interval: year interval estimate of otolith subsample based on the
 age estimate in years * Trophic position: trophic position estimated from
 the otolith subsample (applying formula) - Trophic Ala: Alanine (amino
 acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility * Trophic Asx:
 Aspartic acid (amino acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA
 facility - Trophic Glx: Glutamic acid (amino acid) concentration as
 reported by the CSIA-AA facility * Trophic/Source Gly: Glycine (amino
 acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility - Trophic Ile:
 Isoleucine (amino acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility
 * Trophic Leu: Leucine (amino acid) concentration as reported by the
 CSIA-AA facility - Source Lys: Lysine (amino acid) concentration as
 reported by the CSIA-AA facility * Source Phe: Phenylalanine (amino acid)
 concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility - Trophic Pro: Proline
 (amino acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility *
 Trophic/Source Ser: Serine (amino acid) concentration as reported by the
 CSIA-AA facility - Metabolic Thr: Threonine (amino acid) concentration as
 reported by the CSIA-AA facility * Tyr: Tyrosine (amino acid)
 concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility - Trophic Val: Valine
 (amino acid) concentration as reported by the CSIA-AA facility * mean
 carp: mean trophic position of common carp (applying formula) - mean
 buffalo: mean trophic position of bigmouth buffalo (applying formula)
 Missing data: null