Journal article
Temporal and spatial variation in strontium in a tropical river: Implications for otolith chemistry analyses of fish migration
DA Crook, K Lacksen, AJ King, DJ Buckle, SJ Tickell, JD Woodhead, R Maas, SA Townsend, MM Douglas
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences | CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS | Published : 2017
Abstract
Analysis of otolith strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) is an increasingly utilized approach for studying fish migration. We analysed surface and ground water from the Daly River catchment in the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia over 2 years. Analyses of otolith87Sr/86Sr ratios were also conducted for freshwater sooty grunter (Hephaestus fuliginosus) and the putatively diadromous diamond mullet (Liza ordensis). Spatial variation in freshwater87Sr/86Sr was high (range: 0.71612–0.78059), and there was strong seasonality in water87Sr/86Sr, with highest values in the wet season. Temporal variation in water87Sr/86Sr ratios is attributed to seasonal patterns in surface runoff from geological..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands upon which this study was conducted, the Wagiman, Jawoyn, and Malak Malak people, and thank them for providing access to their land. We thank Lizzie Sullivan (Wagiman traditional owner) and Troy Baruwei, Janet Ellis, Ryan Barrowei, Traven Shields, Mike Alengale, and Lee Jambalily (Jawoyn Ranger Program) for their assistance with fish and water collection. We thank Ben Lewis and the Jawoyn Association for organizing the consultation with traditional owners. Quentin Allsop, Wayne Baldwin, and Jonathon Taylor of the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries are also thanked for assistance with fish collection and otolith preparation. Roger Farrow conducted the pumping of bore water samples, and Julia Schult and Matt Majid took Sr water samples at Banyan Farm for the Department of Land Resource Management. Damien McMaster assisted with production of the map. Funding for this work was provided by the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program (Northern Australia Hub). This research was conducted under Charles Darwin University Animal Ethics Committee permit A12023.