Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperilled potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi

Frederick Feyrer; George Whitman; Matthew Young; Rachel C. Johnson

doi:10.1071/MF18264

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperilled potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi

Frederick Feyrer

^A ^D , George Whitman ^B , Matthew Young ^A and Rachel C. Johnson ^B ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A California Water Science Center, US Geological Survey, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA.

^B Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

^C National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 110 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.

^D Corresponding author. Email: ffeyrer@usgs.gov

Marine and Freshwater Research 70(12) 1689-1697 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18264
Submitted: 25 July 2018 Accepted: 11 February 2019 Published: 18 April 2019

Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2019 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

Identification of habitats responsible for the successful production and recruitment of rare migratory species is a challenge in conservation biology. Here, a tool was developed to assess life stage linkages for the threatened potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi. Clear Lake hitch undertake migrations from Clear Lake (Lake County, CA, USA) into ephemeral tributary streams for spawning. An aqueous isoscape of strontium isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) was constructed for Clear Lake and its watershed to trace natal origins and migration histories of adult recruits. Aqueous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr differentiated Clear Lake from 8 of 10 key tributaries and clustered into 5 strontium isotope groups (SIGs) with 100% classification success. Otolith ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr showed all five groups contributed variably to the population. The age at which juveniles migrated from natal streams to Clear Lake ranged from 11 to 152 days (mean ± s.d., 43 ± 34 days) and was positively associated with the permanency of natal habitat. This information can be used by resource managers to develop conservation actions for Clear Lake hitch. This study demonstrates the utility of strontium isotopes in otoliths as a tool to identify important freshwater habitats occupied over the lifespan of an individual that would otherwise be challenging or impossible to trace with other methods.^A

Additional keywords : intermittent, isoscape, LA-MC-ICP-MS, laser ablation–multicollector–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, migration, potamodromy, threatened species.

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