Volume 65
Stable Isotopes as Natural Markers of Nursery Productivity for Juvenile Snappers Across Back-reef Habitats in Belize
Authors
Wetmore, L.S., W.D. Heyman, and J.R. Rooker Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2012
Pages: 111 - 113
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Santa Marta
Country: Colombia
Abstract
In the present study, we used d13C and d15N stable isotopes as dietary tracers to evaluate back-reef nursery productivity across the Belize coastal lagoon. The objectives of this study were to (a) identify the main sources of primary production supporting three species of juvenile snappers (family Lutjanidae), and (b) model the effects of seasonal runoff and water-shed impact (i.e. anthropogenic influence) on primary productivity within these nurseries.