Isotope geochemistry as a natural tag of fish in Patagonian freshwater environments: The invasive Chinook salmon case

Patagonian aquatic environments have been invaded since the end of the last century by different species of salmonids. Knowing the natal origin and homing/straying rate of the salmonids in colonised environments is essential to understanding the dispersal mechanisms and developing management plans. In the last two decades, Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha showed the greatest natural dispersal capacity in Patagonia. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the environmental strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) as a potential natural tag to infer the natal origin and ontogenetic habitat use of salmonids in Patagonia, specifically Chinook salmon. 87Sr/86Sr ratio was determined in water samples from 26 sites distributed in 14 Atlantic and Pacific basins in low and high water seasons. Environmental 87Sr/86Sr showed greater spatial than temporal variation, revealing great potential as a tool to infer the natal origin and life history of several migratory fish species in Patagonia. Otolith core-to-edge 87Sr/86Sr profiles were also analysed in 108 Chinook salmon from six basins. A cluster analysis based on the Unweighted Pair Group method (UPGMA) and Euclidean distances without prior classification grouped the sampled rivers into five main groups with significantly different (p