Retrospective Isotopic Analyses of Stellar Sea Lion Tooth Annuli and Sea-Bird Feathers: A Cross-Taxa Approach to Investigating Regime and Dietary Shifts in the Gulf of Alaska

Stable isotope (615N and 6°C) values of individual tooth annuli of female Steller sea lions (n = 120) collected from the 1960s through the 1980s were used for retrospective analyses of temporal changes in food webs in the Gulf of Alaska and North Pacific Ocean. We also examined isotopically contour feathers of tufted puffins (n = 135) and crested auklets (n = 37) through this period to test for broader isotopic patterns indicative of whole food web changes. Steller sea lions decreased slightly in 6I3C and increased in 6”N values, suggesting an increasing trophic level and change in foraging location or oceanographic isotopic signature. Steller sea lion first and second tooth annuli were enriched in 15N and depleted in 13C compared with subsequent annuli, indicating the effects of maternal influence through weaning. The general pattern of increasing 615N values among Steller sea lions supports previous conclusions regarding a reduction or redistribution of forage fishes and an increase of demersal and semi-demersal species in the North Pacific ecosystem. There were no significant changes in 6I5N values for either bird species. However, 6I3C values in both bird species again suggested changes in foraging location or a shift in oceanographic currents.