Connecting ecological dots through striped bass diets by using DNA barcoding and stable isotopes

Striped bass invaded Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador in August 2017 and were identified to feed on Atlantic salmon and capelin; two important fishes to NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC). This project aims to sample striped bass in Labrador to identify what it is consuming. We will combine traditional stomach content morphological identification with a new approach for identifying stomach contents using DNA from the partially digested stomach “goo”. Species-specific DNA fragments (primers) will be used to identify prey through methods like the ‘barcode of life’ project. Additionally, we will use quantitative PCR (qPCR) to quantify how much DNA is present from each species when multiple species are in a stomach sample. By combining these methods, we anticipate identifying prey items within a wider window than using the traditional method alone. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Trevor Avery

Student:

Zhe Jackson Yang

Partner:

NunatuKavut Community Council

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

University:

Acadia University

Program: