Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopes Evidence for the Environmental Impact of the Cage Fish Farm in Poyang Lake, China

The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions of the sediment organic matter, fish feed and fish feces were measured to assess the impact of the aquaculture waste from the cage fish farm in Poyang Lake. The results provide evidence of the non-negligible effect of aquaculture waste on the sediment organic matter. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of sediments varied from − 27.62 to − 25.66‰ and 4.83 to 6.92‰, respectively. The sediment organic matter had a mixed source of waste feed, fish feces and plankton. The average contribution ratio of waste feed and fish feces was 53.1% and 24.6%, respectively. The aquaculture derived organic matter ratio was high with ranging from 57.6 to 95.6%. The aquaculture waste seemed to disperse widely enough to influence the study site about 2.5 km distance from the cage. The dispersion and resuspension were the main two factors which can explain the great effect area found in this study.