Larval fish diet and stable isotope data collected during NRDA Plankton Survey Walton Smith 4 (WS4) in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2011-04-20 to 2011-05-27 on board the R/V F.G. Walton Smith Cruise WS1107

This dataset contains larval fish diet and stable isotope data collected on board the R/V F.G. Walton Smith during Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Plankton Survey Walton Smith 4 (WS4) in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2011-04-20 to 2011-05-27. This survey (WS4, chief scientist: Malinda Sutor) was part of a series of NRDA cruises conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the distribution and densities of ichthyoplankton and other zooplankton in Gulf of Mexico waters potentially affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS) and in surrounding areas. Archived fish samples collected from one deep-pelagic plankton cruise (Walton Smith 4) conducted during the Deepwater Horizon NRDA were used to identify trophic (diet and bulk-tissue stable isotope) analyses of larval and juvenile deep-pelagic fishes within four dominant mesopelagic fish families (Myctophidae, Gonostomatidae, Sternoptychidae, Phosichthyidae). Samples were analyzed for stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) using a Thermo Delta V stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer coupled to a Costech 4010 elemental analyzer by a Thermo Confo IV continuous flow interface. Isotopic values were calculated relative to conventional standards for each element of interest and expressed in standard delta (δ) notation. Corresponding data sets for the specimens in this dataset can be found under the GRIIDC Unique Dataset Identifiers (UDIs): R6.x815.000:0006 (doi: 10.7266/n7-9vcj-nf90; MOCNESS instrument data), R6.x815.000:0010 (doi: 10.7266/n7-dp76-tz89; Ichthyoplankton data), R6.x815.000:0021 (doi: 10.7266/n7-9kwb-eh85; Zooplankton abundance data), R6.x815.000:0022 (doi: 10.7266/n7-q8s5-b255; Zooplankton imagery), and R6.x815.000:0034 (doi: 10.7266/WTSDCS65; Zooplankton stable isotope data).