Intra-lake stable isotope ratio variation in selected fish species and their possible carbon sources in Lake Kyoga (Uganda): Implications for aquatic food web studies

African Journal of Ecology

Volumn 48, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 667-675

  Mbabazi, Dismas ^a   Makanga, B ^b   Orach Meza, F ^c   Hecky, R E ^d   Balirwa, J S ^a   Ogutu Ohwayo, R ^a   Verburg, P ^e   Chapman, L ^f,g   Muhumuza, E ^a  

^a National Fisheries Resources Research Institute   (Uganda)

^b MAKERERE UNIVERSITY   (Uganda)

^c Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project   (Uganda)

^d UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO   (Canada)

^e UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA   (United States)

^f MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^g WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY   (United States)

Author keywords

Fish; Isotopes; Phytoplankton; Spatial variability; Trophic

Indexed keywords

CARBON ISOTOPE; FISH; FOOD CHAIN; FOOD WEB; INVERTEBRATE; ISOTOPIC RATIO; NITROGEN ISOTOPE; PHYTOPLANKTON; SPATIAL VARIATION; STABLE ISOTOPE;

LAKE KYOGA; UGANDA;

EID: 77955797768     PISSN: 01416707     EISSN: 13652028     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01163.x     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Balirwa JS, Chapman CA, Chapman LJ, Cowx IG, Geheb K, Kaufman L, Lowe-Mcconnell RH, Seehausen O, Wanink JH, Welcomme RL, Witte F. Biodiversity and fishery sustainability in the Lake Victoria Basin. An unexpected marriage? Bioscience 2003, 53:703-715.
2. Beaudoin CP, Tonn WM, Prepas EE, Wassenaar LI. Individual specialization and trophic adaptability of northern pike (Esox lucius): an isotope and dietary analysis. Oecologia 1999, 120:386-396.
3. Ben-David M, Schell DM. Mixing models in analyses of diet using multiple stable isotopes: a response. Oecologia 2001, 127:180-184.
4. Cabana G, Rasmussen JB. Comparison of aquatic food chains using nitrogen isotopes. PNAS 1996, 93:10844-10847.
5. Campbell LM, Hecky RE, Wandera SB. Stable isotope analyses of food web structure and Fish diet in Napoleon and Winam gulfs, Lake Victoria, East Africa. J. Grt. Lks. Res. 2003, 29:243-257.
6. Campbell LM, Wandera SB, Thacker RJ, Dixon GD, Hecky RE. Trophic niche segregation in the nilotic ichthyofauna of Lake Albert (Uganda, Africa). Environ. Biol. Fish 2005, 74:247-260.
7. Chapman L, Chapman CA, Schofield PJ, Olowo JP, Kaufman L, Seehausen O, Ogutu-Ohwayo R. Fish faunal resurgence in Lake Nabugabo, East Africa. Conserv. Biol. 2003, 17:500-511.
8. Cloern JE, Canuel EA, Harris D. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of aquatic and terrestrial plants of San Francisco Bay estuarine system. Limnol. Oceonogr. 2002, 47:713-729.
9. Craig H. Isotopic standards for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass-spectrometeric analysis of carbon dioxide. Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta Acta 1957, 12:133-149.
10. Doi H, Kikuchi E, Hino S, Itoh T, Takagi S, Shikano S. Seasonal dynamics of carbon stable isotope ratios of particulate organic matter and benthic diatoms in strongly acidic Lake Katanuma. Aquat. Microbial Ecol. 2003, 33:87-94.
11. Doi H, Zuykova E, Kikuchi E, Shikano S, Kanoul K, Yurlova N, Yadrenkina E. Spatial changes in carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of the plankton food web in a saline lake ecosystem. Hydrobiologia 2006, 571:395-400.
12. France RL, Schlaepfer MA. 13C and 15N depletion in components of a food web from an ephemeral boreal wetland compared to boreal lakes: putative evidence for microbial processes. Hydrobiologia 2000, 439:1-6.
13. Fryer G. The feeding mechanism of some atyid prawns of the genus Caridina. Trans. R. Soc. Edinburgh 1960, 64:217-244.
14. Gearing JN. The study of diet and trophic relationships through natural abundance 13C. Carbon Isotope Techniques 1991, Cleman DCFry B. Eds, Academic press, Inc., San Diego
15. Genner MJ, Hawkins SJ, Turner GF. Isotopic change through out the life history of a lake cichlid. J. Fish Biol. 2003, 62:907-917.
16. Gu B, Schelske SL, Hoyer MV. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen as indicators of diet and trophic structure of the fish community in a shallow hypereutrophic lake. J. Fish Biol. 1996, 49:1233-1243.
17. Hadwen WL, Arthington AH. Food webs of two intermittently open estuaries receiving 15N-enriched sewage effluent. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2007, 71:347-358.
18. Harvey CJ, Kitchell JF. A stable isotope evaluation of the structure and spatial heterogeneity of a Lake Superior food web. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2000, 57:395-1403.
19. Hecky RE. The eutrophication of of Lake Victoria. Ver. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 1993, 25:39-48.
20. Hecky RE, Hesslein RH. Contributions of benthic algae to lake food webs as revealed by stable isotope analyses. North. Am. Benth. Soc. 1995, 14:631-653.
21. Herwig BR, Souk DA, Dettmers JM, Wahl DH. Trophic structure and energy flow in black water lakes of two large flood plain rivers assessed using stable isotopes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2004, 61:12-22.
22. Jepsen DB, Winemiller KO. Structure of tropical river food webs revealed by stable isotope ratios. Oikos 2002, 96:46-55.
23. Jones JI, Waldron S. Combined stable isotope and gut contents analysis of food webs in plant-dominated, shallow lakes. Freshw. Biol. 2003, 48:1396-1407.
24. Katunzi EFB, Van Densen WLT, Wanink JH, Witte F. Spatial and seasonal patterns in the feeding habits of juvenile Lates niloticus (L.), in the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria. Hydrobiologia 2006, 568:121-133.
25. Keough JR, Siersen ME, Hargley CA. Anaylsis of Lake superior coastal food web with stable isotope techniques. Limnol. Oceanogr. 1996, 41:136-146.
26. Layman CA, Wnemiller KO, Arrrington DA, Jepsen DB. Body size and trophic position in a diverse tropical food web. Ecology 2005, 86:2530-2535.
27. Layman CA, Quattrochi JP, Peyer CM, Allgeier JE. Niche width collapse in a resilient top predator following ecosystem fragmentation. Ecol. Lett. 2007, 10:937-944.
28. Leggett MF, Johannsson O, Hesslein R, Dixon DG, Taylor WD, Servos MR. Influence of inorganic nitrogen cycling on the δ15N of Lake Ontario. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2000, 57:1489-1496.
29. Mackie GL. Applied Aquatic Ecosystem Concepts 2001, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, ISBN 0-7872-7490-9
30. Mbabazi D. Trophic characterisation of the dominant fishes in the Victoria and Kyoga Lake basins 2004, PhD Thesis, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
31. Mbabazi D, Ogutu-Ohwayo R, Wandera SB, Kiziito Y. Trophic structure and diversity of the cichlid haplochromines in the Kyoga satellite lakes (Uganda). Afr. J. Ecol. 2004, 42:59-68.
32. Melville AJ, Connolly RM. Spatial analysis of stable isotope data to determine primary sources of nutrition for fish. Oecologia 2003, 136:499-507.
33. Minagawa MH, Wada E. Step wise enrichment of 15N along food chains: further evidence and the relation between 15N and animal age. Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta Acta 1984, 48:611-1140.
34. Mkumbo OC, Ligtvoet W. Changes in the diet of Nile perch, Lates niloticus (L), in the Mwanza Gulf, Lake Victoria. Hydrobiologia 1992, 232:79-83.
35. Peterson BJ, Fry B, Deegan L. The trophic significance of epilithic algal production in a fertilized tundra river ecosystem. Limnol. Oceanogr. 1993, 38:872-878.
36. Polis GA, Strong DR. Food web complexity and community dynamics. Am. Nat. 1996, 147:813-846.
37. Schindler DE, Hodgson JR, Kitchell JF. Density-dependent changes in individual foraging specialization of largemouth bass. Oecologia 1997, 110:592-600.
38. Stainton MP, Capel MJ, Armstrong FAJ. The Chemical Analysis of Fresh Waters 1977, 2nd edn, Misc. Spec. Publ. Environment, Canada
39. Syväranta J, Hämäläinen H, Jones R. Within-lake variability in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures. Freshw. Biol. 2006, 51:1090-1102.
40. The 2002 Uganda Population and Housing Census, Population Size and Distribution 2006, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Kampala, Uganda
41. Vadeboncoeur Y, Jeppesen E, Vander Zanden JM, Schierup H, Christoffersen K, Lodge DM. From Greenland to green lakes: cultural eutrophication and the loss of benthic pathways in lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 2003, 48:1408-1418.
42. Vanden Bossche JP, Bernacsek GM. Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa 1990, 1. CIFA Technical Paper. No. 18.1, FAO, Rome
43. Vander Zanden MJ, Rasmussen JB. Primary consumer δ15N and δ13C and trophic position of aquatic consumers. Ecology 1999, 80:1395-1404.
44. Vander Zanden MJ, Rasmussen JB. Variation in 15N and 13C trophic fractionation: implications for aquatic food web studies. Limnol. Oceanogr. 2001, 46:2061-2066.
45. Vanderklift MA, Ponsard S. Sources of variation in consumer-diet δ15N enrichment: a meta-analysis. Oecologia 2003, 136:169-182.
46. Yoshii K. Stable isotope analyses of benthic organisms in Lake Baikal. Hydrobiologia 1999, 411:145-159.
47. Zah R, Burgherr P, Bemasconi SM, Uehlinger U. Stable isotope analysis of macro-invertebrates and their food sources in a glacier stream. Freshw. Biol. 2001, 46:871-882.