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Global change is fundamentally altering flows of natural and anthropogenic subsidies across space and time. After a pointed call for research on subsidies in the 1990s, an industry of empirical work has documented the ubiquitous role subsidies play in ecosystem structure, stability, and function. Here, we argue that physical constraints (e.g., water temperature) and species traits can govern a species' accessibility to resource subsidies, which has been largely overlooked in the subsidy literature. We examined the input of a high-quality, point-source anthropogenic subsidy (aquaculture feed) into a recipient freshwater lake food web. Using a combined bio-tracer approach, we detect a gradient in accessibility of the anthropogenic subsidy within the surrounding food web driven by the thermal preferences of three constituent species, effectively rewiring the recipient lake food web. Because aquaculture is predicted to increase significantly in coming decades to support growing human populations, and global change is altering temperature regimes, then this form of food web alteration may be expected to occur frequently. We argue that subsidy accessibility is a key characteristic of recipient food web interactions that must be considered when trying to understand the impacts of subsidies on ecosystem stability and function under continued global change., (© 2022 The Ecological Society of America.)

Rationale: Chemical lipid extraction or using alternative tissues such as fish fin as opposed to muscle may alter isotopic ratios and influence interpretations of δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and previously unassessed δ 34 S values in stable isotope analyses (SIA). Our objectives were to determine if lipid extraction alters these isotope ratios in muscle, if lipid normalization models can be used for lipid-rich salmonids, and if fin isotope ratios are comparable with those of muscle in adult salmonids., Methods: In six adult salmonid species (n = 106) collected from Lake Ontario, we compared three isotope ratios in lipid-extracted (LE) muscle with bulk muscle, and LE muscle with fin tissue, with paired t-tests and linear regressions. We compared differences between δ 13 C values in LE and bulk muscle with predicted values from lipid normalization models and the log-linear model of best fit and determined model efficiency., Results: The δ 15 N values in LE muscle increased (<1‰) relative to bulk muscle for most salmonids, with relationships nearing 1:1. There were either no differences or strong 1:1 relationships in δ 34 S values between species-specific bulk and LE muscle. One lipid normalization model had greater model efficiency (97%) than the model of best fit (94%). Fin had higher δ 13 C values than LE muscle while δ 15 N trends varied (<1‰); however, both isotope ratios had either no or weak linear relationships with fin and LE muscle within species. The δ 34 S values in fin were similar to those in LE muscle and had strong 1:1 relationships across species., Conclusions: We recommend using the lipid normalization model to adjust for δ 13 C values in lipid-rich muscle (C:N >3.4). LE muscle could be used without δ 15 N or δ 34 S adjustments, but the minimal increase in δ 15 N values may affect SIA interpretation. With high unexplained variability among adult species in fin-muscle δ 13 C and δ 15 N relationships, species-specific fin-muscle adjustments are warranted. No fin-muscle tissue adjustment would be required for δ 34 S values., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The assimilation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) after intraperitoneal (IP) injection was compared to PCBs bioaccumulated by the same fish through natural exposure ("native" PCBs). Lipid equivalent corrected dorsal muscle: whole body concentration ratios for native PCB 153 averaged 1.16 ± 0.77 and ranged from 1.19 to 1.24 for three IP dosed non-native PCBs within 6 h after dosing. Variation in tissue distribution of IP-dosed congeners was reduced after benchmarking to PCB 153, reinforcing that assimilation of the IP dose occurred into muscle rapidly after injection. Despite the use of small oil volumes during injection (<10 μL per fish), coefficients of variation of IP-dosed PCBs were equivalent to those observed for native PCBs. The results suggest that IP dosing provides a precise method to achieve target concentrations of hydrophobic chemicals in small fish and does not require several days to achieve assimilation into highly perfused tissues.

Seasonal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations and food web structure was assessed for eastern Lake Ontario. Hg concentrations, measured in 6 species of invertebrates and 8 species of fishes, tended to be highest in the spring and lowest in the summer for most biota. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) exhibited significant ontogenetic shifts in diet and Hg, although such patterns were not evident for other species. Food web structure, as indicated by stable isotope values (δ(15)N, δ(13)C) was not static. Log-transformed Hg data were strongly and consistently correlated with δ(15)N values for the whole food web in each of the three seasons (slopes, 0.17-0.24) and across the entire year (slope, 0.2). While significantly different between seasons, the regression slope values are still consistent with published global Hg biomagnification rates. Our results indicate that the assessment of Hg trends in Great Lakes must take into account seasonal patterns and time of sampling., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) have re-engineered Great Lakes ecosystems since their introduction in the late 1980s. Dreissenids can have major indirect impacts on profundal habitats by redirecting nutrients and energy away from pelagic production (which supplies profundal production) and depositing nutrients and energy in the nearshore zones that they occupy. However, strong empirical evidence for the effects of this redirection of resources on fish populations is currently lacking. Here, we report significant shifts in isotopic signatures, depth distribution and diets of a coldwater profundal fish population that are all consistent with a greater reliance on nearshore resources after the establishment of dreissenid mussels in South Bay, Lake Huron. Isotopic signatures of scales collected from 5-year-old lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) demonstrated remarkable stability over the 50-year period prior to the establishment of dreissenids (1947-1997) and a sudden and significant change in isotopic signatures (3 per thousand enrichment in delta13C and 1 per thousand depletion in delta(15)N) after their establishment (2001-2005). These dramatic shifts in isotopic signatures were accompanied by a coincident shift in the mean depth of capture of lake whitefish towards the nearshore. A comparison of previously unpublished pre-invasion diets of lake whitefish from South Bay with contemporary diets collected between 2002 and 2005 also indicate a greater reliance on nearshore prey after the invasion of dreissenid mussels. This study is the first to report changes in the carbon source available to lake whitefish associated with restructured benthic communities after the appearance of dreissenid mussels. Further, this study contributes to a growing body of work that demonstrates the ecological insights that can be gained through isotopic analysis of archived fish bony tissues in ecosystems that have experienced significant levels of disturbance.