Eye lens isotope data collected from offshore Florida reef fish, 2015-07-06 to 2017-10-20

Early juveniles served as survivors of the egg and larval periods and spawning-ground origins for early juveniles can be inferred from eye-lens isotopes to determine if some spawning areas supply more early juveniles than other areas. Eye-lens samples provided a lifetime, seasonal-scale records of stable-isotope histories for individual fish that can be combined with isotope maps to infer geographic movement history; these records also revealed information on the individual’s position in the food web. Specimens for this task originated from SEAMAP groundfish trawl surveys on the WFS, private fishing vessels, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fishery-independent monitoring collections in nearshore areas along the west coast of Florida. One lens per individual fish was dissected and 13C/12C, 15N/14N, and C:N was measured.