Relative carbon contributions to two fish species food webs

Map of black rockfish (left) and kelp greenling (right) sampling locations in the northeast Pacific Ocean with pie charts representing the relative carbon contributions from kelp (brown) and phytoplankton (green) primary producers estimated using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope values of muscle tissue. Black rockfish feed pelagically in the nearshore water column and kelp greenling feed benthically in nearshore waters. Mixing models were used to estimate carbon contributions based on site-specific phytoplankton and kelp and trophic discrimination factors (mean ± SD) of 1.0 ± 1.0‰ for δ13C per trophic level. Image credits: kelp and phytoplankton Jane Thomas and Tracey Saxby, IAN Image Library (http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary) and fish pictures, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.  From publication: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.08.039