Regional patterns of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N for European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) throughout the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

R. J. David Wells , Jay R. Rooker , Piero Addis , Haritz Arrizabalaga , Miguel Baptista , Giovanni Bearzi , Igaratza Fraile , Thomas Lacoue-Labarthe (1) , Emily N. Meese , Persefoni Megalofonou , Rui Rosa , Ignacio Sobrino , Antonio V. Sykes , Roger Villanueva

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés

Stable isotope compositions of carbon and nitrogen (expressed as δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) from the European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) were measured in order to evaluate the utility of using these natural tracers throughout the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea (NEAO-MS). Mantle tissue was obtained from S. officinalis collected from 11 sampling locations spanning a wide geographical coverage in the NEAO-MS. Significant differences of both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values were found among S. officinalis samples relative to sampling location. δ¹³C values did not show any discernable spatial trends; however, a distinct pattern of lower δ¹⁵N values in the Mediterranean Sea relative to the NEAO existed. Mean δ¹⁵N values of S. officinalis in the Mediterranean Sea averaged 2.5‰ lower than conspecifics collected in the NEAO and showed a decreasing eastward trend within the Mediterranean Sea with the lowest values in the most eastern sampling locations. Results suggest δ¹⁵N may serve as a useful natural tracer for studies on the population structure of S. officinalis as well as other marine organisms throughout the NEAO-MS.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences

R. J. David Wells, Jay R. Rooker, Piero Addis, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Miguel Baptista, et al.. Regional patterns of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N for European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) throughout the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Royal Society Open Science, 2021, 8, ⟨10.1098/rsos.210345⟩. ⟨insu-03708695⟩