Dataset: Stable Isotope measurements – field and lab samples

Name: Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotope measurements for various marine samples collected from the Gulf of Mexico as well as eggs, animals, and food sources collected in the laboratory and commercial sources from 2020 to 2022.
Published: 2023-09-12
Keywords: oceans

Cite This Dataset

DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.908171.1

Spatial Extent: N:27.9362222 E:-97.0217777 S:27.8396111 W:-97.0827222

Temporal Extent: 2020-07-01 - 2023-07-31

Project:

Counter-gradient Flow of Fatty Acids in Marine Food Webs Through Egg Boons (Egg Boon Food Webs)

Principal Investigator:

Lee A. Fuiman (University of Texas - Marine Science Institute, UTMSI)

Co-Principal Investigator:

Parvathi Nair (University of Texas - Marine Science Institute, UTMSI)

Contact:

Lee A. Fuiman (University of Texas - Marine Science Institute, UTMSI)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Amber D. York (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Version:

Version Date:

2023-09-12

Restricted:

Yes

Release Date:

2024-08-01

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotope measurements for various marine samples collected from the Gulf of Mexico as well as eggs, animals, and food sources collected in the laboratory and commercial sources from 2020 to 2022.

Abstract:

Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotope measurements for various marine samples collected from the Gulf of Mexico Estuary near Port Aransas, Texas from 2020 to 2022 as well as eggs, animals, and food sources from the laboratory and commercial sources from 2020 to 2022.

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Archival Copy

Version Date	Archive	Persistent Identifier	Date Assigned
2023-09-12	Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA)	10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.908171.1	2024-01-17

Methods & Sampling

Locations: Gulf of Mexico Estuary near Port Aransas, Texas. FAML: pier at in Corpus Christi Channel, Port Aransas, TX, United States, Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (lat. 27.8396111, lon. -97.0827222); MI: Mud Island in Aransas Bay, TX, United States (lat. 27.9362222, lon. -97.0217777)).

Methods and Sampling:
Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotope values were measured for samples of fish eggs, marine animals, and basal resources collected from the field as well as eggs, commercial fish food, Otohime (EP1, Reed Mariculture, Inc. and Artemia sp. nauplii (enriched with Alga-Mac 3050; Aquafauna Bio-Marine, Inc.) used in laboratory experiments.

Plankton net (500-µm mesh) samples were sorted immediately after collection (live material). Samples of jellyfish were collected using dip net. Animals were transferred to holding tanks to evacuate their guts for 4-5 hours. Fish were collected using cast net and seines. Fishes were immediately euthanized with lethal dose of MS-222. The euthanized fish were placed on ice and a fillet of dorsal white muscle tissue and liver were collected. Each sample was rinsed twice in distilled water and frozen at -80°C for subsequent analysis.

Basal resources were collected by pumping seawater from the Aransas Pass Channel adjacent to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute’s Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory and filtering the seawater through sieves of five different mesh sizes to obtain five size fractions of plankton samples (i.e., 38-63 µm, 63-100 µm, 100-150 µm, 150-250 µm and 250-500 µm). Bottom sediment was collected with a dredge sampler. Those samples were passed through sieves of five different mesh sizes to obtain five size fractions mentioned above. The time between collection and analysis ranged from 2 months to a year.

For stable isotope analysis, each sample was lyophilized, homogenized, and weighed. A subsample of the lyophilized and homogenized tissue was analyzed for bulk stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios by mass spectrometry. Analyses of size-fractioned plankton samples were run separately for carbon and for nitrogen stable isotopes. The plankton samples and bottom sediments for carbon stable isotope analysis were acidified to remove carbonates. The nitrogen stable isotope analysis values of acidified samples were not significantly different from non-acidified samples of plankton and bottom sediment. Hence, the nitrogen stable isotope values of acidified samples were reported. Samples of eggs, commercial feed, and animals were not acidified. Isotope analysis produced δ13C and δ15N values as well as percent carbon and percent nitrogen in the sample.

Data Processing Description

ISODAT software (version 3.0) was used to collect the isotope trace chromatography and calculate raw isotopic ratios. Isotope results are presented using the conventional δ-notation:

δ13C (or δ15N) = [(Rsample/Rstandard)-1] (in ‰)

where, Rsample and Rstandard = 13C/12C (or 15N/14N). All δ-values are reported relative to VPDB for carbon and AIR for nitrogen, unless otherwise stated (Coplen, 1996). A two-point calibration of δ13C to VPDB and to δ15N to AIR was achieved using USGS-40 (−26.39‰, −4.52‰) and USGS-41a (+36.55‰, +47.55‰), respectively. Internal laboratory standards; casein (protein), was used to evaluate the carbon and nitrogen accuracy and precision during analytical sessions. Overall, carbon and nitrogen isotope results had a standard deviation of less than 0.2‰.

Quality control procedure

Individual samples for which the means were greater than 4 standard deviations from the taxon mean were removed from the data set.

A primary check value was assigned as follows:

1 Perfectly fine

2 Data not evaluated because of too few data points for quality control check

BCO-DMO Processing

BCO-DMO Data Manager Processing Notes:
* Sheet 1 of file "Stable isotope 2020-2022.xlsx" from the online submission system was imported into the BCO-DMO data system with values "NA" as missing data values.
** Missing data values are displayed differently based on the file format you download. They are blank in csv files, "NaN" in MatLab files, etc.
* Column names adjusted to conform to BCO-DMO naming conventions designed to support broad re-use by a variety of research tools and scripting languages. [Only numbers, letters, and underscores. Can not start with a number]
* Date format changed to ISO 8601 format
* Taxon name and associated LSID for names in this dataset as of 2023-06-23 (source: World Register of Marine Species). Added supplemental file with taxon ids and match information including if the name used in the dataset was the accepted or unaccepted synonym and if unaccepted also included the currently accepted synonym at time of match.

Data Files

File
908171_v1_stable_isotopes_field_and_lab.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 133.00 KB) MD5:018c2b951827f33b60766d7123699c89 Primary data table for dataset 908171 version 1.

Supplemental Files

File

Species List and Taxonomic Identifiers
filename: 908171_species_list.csv

(Comma Separated Values (.csv), 5.98 KB)
MD5:bddfb5389606a548f76888817c0bd680

Unique species list for this dataset with the matched taxonomic identifiers. Match performed using the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) taxa match tool on 2023-12-05. All exact matches to known taxonomic names. Taxon_in_dataset "Salpa" for "salps" was matched to family taxon Salpidae.

columns:
Taxon_in_dataset, Taxon(category) name in the dataset which may contain lifestage terms as well as taxon name (e.g. "Sciaenops ocellatus lab eggs").
ScientificName, Taxon name matched to the "Taxon_in_dataset" which does not include lifestage terms or sp.
Common_name_in_dataset, Common name in the dataset for the category
AphiaID, Taxonomic identifier (AphiaID) for the taxonomic name used in the dataset (see World Register of Marine Species)
LSID, Lifesciences Identifier (LSID) for the taxonomic name used in the dataset.
Taxon status, Status of the name used in the dataset (denotes if the currently accepted name or a currently unaccepted synonym as of the date 2023-12-05)
ScientificName_accepted, The currently accepted name for the taxonomic name used in the dataset.
AphiaID_accepted, The taxonomic identifier (AphiaID)  for the currently accepted name (see World Register of Marine Species) 

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences	OCE-2023618

Deployments

None available yet

Instruments

Elemental Analyzer

Supplied Name: ThermoFisher Scientific EA-Isolink CNSOH element analyzer.

Supplied Description:

ThermoFisher Scientific Delta V isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) coupled to a ThermoFisher Scientific EA-Isolink CNSOH element analyzer.

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Elemental Analyzer

Community Identifier: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/LAB01/

Generic Description:

Instruments that quantify carbon, nitrogen and sometimes other elements by combusting the sample at very high temperature and assaying the resulting gaseous oxides. Usually used for samples including organic material.

Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer

Supplied Name: ThermoFisher Scientific Delta V isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS)

Supplied Description:

ThermoFisher Scientific Delta V isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) coupled to a ThermoFisher Scientific EA-Isolink CNSOH element analyzer.

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer

Acronym: IR Mass Spec; IRMS

Community Identifier: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/LAB16/

Generic Description:

The Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer is a particular type of mass spectrometer used to measure the relative abundance of isotopes in a given sample (e.g. VG Prism II Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometer).

Parameters

Date and time formats are described in python strftime() syntax.

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
Taxon	Taxonomic grouping of sample, or category. May include lifestage or source of sample (examples: "Sciaenops ocellatus lab eggs","Otohime","Bottom sediment")	unitless	taxon
Common_name	Common name of sample, or source of sample	unitless	common_name
Sample_ID	Sample identifier for a taxon on a sampling date	unitless	sample
Classification	Broader taxonomic group (or category) to which sample belongs (examples: "Benthic","	unitless	sample_descrip
Weight	Sample dry weight	milligrams (mg)	dry_wgt_globec
Date_collected	Date sample was collected in ISO format Format: %Y-%m-%d	unitless	date
Site	Location where sample was collected (FAML: pier at in Corpus Christi Channel, Port Aransas, TX, United States, Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (lat. 27.8396111, lon. -97.0827222); MI: Mud Island in Aransas Bay, TX, United States (lat. 27.9362222, lon. -97.0217777); TPWD: produced by captive adults at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Marine Development Center, Corpus Christi, TX, United States (lat. 27.646877, lon. -97.0217777))	unitless	site
Length	Bell diameter for cnidarians; total length for fish; carapace length for crabs	centimeters (cm)	length
Notes	Notes about sample	unitless	comment
Primary_check	Primary QC check (1 = Perfectly fine, 2 = Data not evaluated because of too few data points for quality control check)	unitless	q_flag
d13C	Stable isotope of carbon; values in permil or parts per thousand	per mil	d13C
percent_C	Percent carbon in the sample	percentage	C
d15N	Stable isotope of nitrogen; values in permil or parts per thousand	per mil	d15N
percent_N	Percent nitrogen in the sample	percentage	N

Database

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Dataset: Stable Isotope measurements – field and lab samples