Abstract:

This dataset contains carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes composition from blood plasma samples of seven predatory species collected aboard R/V E.O. Wilson WI100915BL across the north-central Gulf of Mexico from 2015-09-19 to 2017-04-21. Samples were collected from various elasmobranch and teleost species encountered on the bottom longline gear set at multiple sites along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama from fall 2015 through spring 2017. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured with a PDZ Europa ANCA-GSL elemental analyzer interfaced to a PDZ Europa 20-20 isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Sercon Ltd., Cheshire, UK) at the University of California, Davis (UCD) Stable Isotope Facility. Measurements of sulfur stable isotopic ratios were made by the elemental analyzer (ECS 4010, Costech Analytical, Valencia, CA) and analyzed with a continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Delta PlusXP, Thermofinnigan, Bremen) at the Washington State University (WSU) Stable Isotope Core Laboratory. The cruise documentation was provided for the R/V E.O. Wilson cruise WI100915BL, led by chief scientist Dr. Marcus Drymon.

Suggested Citation:

Emily Seubert, J. Marcus Drymon. 2020. Carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes from blood samples of seven predatory species collected aboard R/V E.O. Wilson cruise WI100915BL in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico from 2015-09-19 to 2017-04-21. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/0HRVTB71

Publications:

Seubert, E. A., Hussey, N., Powers, S. P., Valentine, J. F., & Drymon, J. M. (2019). Assessing trophic flexibility of a predator assemblage across a large estuarine seascape using blood plasma stable isotope analysis. Food Webs, 21, e00132. doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2019.e00132

Purpose:

To assess the isotopic composition as a proxy for trophic structure of top predatory species in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico.

Data Parameters and Units:

Station ID: Internal id to identify a station, Date: Date in the format of mm/dd/yyyy when the sample was collected, Season: Season when the sample was collected, Sample ID: Internal id to identify a sample, Species: Common name of the species, D15N: Stable isotope ratio of 15N:14N measured by the UC Davis Stable Isotope Facility from a blood plasma tissue sample, expressed as per mil, ‰, D13C: Stable isotope ratio of 13C:12C measured by the UC Davis Stable Isotope Facility from a blood plasma tissue sample, expressed as per mil, ‰, D34S: Stable isotope ratio of 34S:32S measured by the WSU Isotope Core Laboratory from a blood plasma tissue sample, expressed as per mil, ‰, FL (cm): Fork length of the species measured in centimeter; NAs represent species where FL is inappropriate (i.e. stingrays) or missing values, DW (cm): Disk width of the species, specifically southern stingrays, measured in centimeter; NAs represent species where DW is inappropriate (i.e. sharks and fish) or missing values, Weight (kg): Weight of the species measured in kilogram, Sex: Sex of the species, Stage: Stage of sexual maturity of the individual, only identifiable externally for males; NAs represent female individuals, whose maturity could not be identified externally, Latitude: Latitude of sampling location in decimal degree, Longitude: Longitude of sampling location in decimal degree,

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