Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic inventory of the most abundant demersal fish captured by benthic gears in southwestern Iceland (North Atlantic)

Gianluca Sarà (1) , Maurizio Pirro (2) , Mario Sprovieri (3) , Paola Rumolo (3) , Halldór Pálmar Halldórsson (4, 5) , Jörundur Svavarsson (4, 5)

1 Dipartimento di Ecologia
2 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica
3 IAMC-CNR
4 University of Iceland [Reykjavik]
5 Institute of Biology

Stable isotopes (δC and δN) were used to examine the origin of organic matter for the most representative demersal species of the SW Icelandic fishery, accounting for over 70% of landings of those species in the North Atlantic. Samples were collected during a 2-week period in early September 2004 from landings and directly during fishing cruises. Stable isotopes showed that particulate organic matter and sedimentary organic matter were at the base of the food web and appeared to fill two different compartments: the pelagic and the benthic. The pelagic realm was composed of only capelin and sandeel; krill and redfish occupied an intermediate position between pelagic and benthic realms; while anglerfish, haddock, cod and ling resulted as the true demersal species while tusk, rays and plaice were strongly linked to the benthic habitat.

Mots clés: Demersal fish; Food web; Stable isotope; Iceland; North Atlantic

Gianluca Sarà, Maurizio Pirro, Mario Sprovieri, Paola Rumolo, Halldór Pálmar Halldórsson, et al.. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic inventory of the most abundant demersal fish captured by benthic gears in southwestern Iceland (North Atlantic). Helgoland Marine Research, 2009, 63 (4), pp.309-315. ⟨10.1007/s10152-009-0159-6⟩. ⟨hal-00535196⟩