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Osuka KE, Stewart BD, Samoilys MA, Roche RC, Turner J, McClean C. Protection outcomes for fish trophic groups across a range of management regimes. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2021; 173:113010. [PMID: 34628347 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) improve conservation outcomes across anthropogenic pressures can improve the benefits derived from them. Effects of protection for coral reefs in the western and central Indian Ocean were assessed using size-spectra analysis of fish and the relationships of trophic group biomass with human population density. Length-spectra relationships quantifying the relative abundance of small and large fish (slope) and overall productivity of the system (intercept) showed inconsistent patterns with MPA protection. The results suggest that both the slopes and intercepts were significantly higher in highly and well-protected MPAs. This indicates that effective MPAs are more productive and support higher abundances of smaller fish, relative to moderately protected MPAs. Trophic group biomass spanning piscivores and herbivores, decreased with increasing human density implying restoration of fish functional structure is needed. This would require addressing fisher needs and supporting effective MPA management to secure ecosystem benefits for coastal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy E Osuka
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK; CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya.
| | - Bryce D Stewart
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
| | - Melita A Samoilys
- CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ronan C Roche
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - John Turner
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Colin McClean
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
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2
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Arranz I, Brucet S, Bartrons M, García-Comas C, Benejam L. Fish size spectra are affected by nutrient concentration and relative abundance of non-native species across streams of the NE Iberian Peninsula. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 795:148792. [PMID: 34229238 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Aquatic ecosystems are strongly body-size structured with a decline of numerical abundance with increasing body size (hereafter, the size spectrum). Marine and lake fish studies have reported consistent variations of size spectra in relation to environmental conditions and biotic composition, but little is known about stream fishes. Accordingly, in this study we test several hypotheses about the effects of local water conditions, biotic introductions and cumulative pressures (measured as the IMPRESS index) on the fish size-spectrum slope (that is, the linear rate of decline of fish abundance as body size increase in a log-log scale) and the size-spectrum intercept (commonly used as proxy for carrying capacity) among 118 local fish assemblages in streams of the NE Iberian Peninsula. To our knowledge, this is the first time that an extensive river fish dataset is used in a dendritic network to cover systematic changes of size-spectrum parameters. We find that the slope and intercept of the fish size spectrum are negatively correlated with nutrient concentration (mainly total phosphorus), with a greater relative abundance of small fishes but a decline of overall carrying capacity. Moreover, fish assemblages with greater relative abundance of non-native species have flatter size-spectrum slopes. In contrast, the IMPRESS index and climate-related variables are poor predictors of the shape of the fish size spectra. This study contributes to better understanding of the main factors structuring fish assemblages in lotic environments of the Iberian Peninsula. We encourage more research on this line to further explore the use of fish size structure to evaluate the ecological health of riverine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Arranz
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain; Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France.
| | - S Brucet
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Bartrons
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain
| | - C García-Comas
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Benejam
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain
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3
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Potapov AM, Rozanova OL, Semenina EE, Leonov VD, Belyakova OI, Bogatyreva VY, Degtyarev MI, Esaulov AS, Korotkevich AY, Kudrin AA, Malysheva EA, Mazei YA, Tsurikov SM, Zuev AG, Tiunov AV. Size compartmentalization of energy channeling in terrestrial belowground food webs. Ecology 2021; 102:e03421. [PMID: 34086977 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Size-structured food webs form integrated trophic systems where energy is channeled from small to large consumers. Empirical evidence suggests that size structure prevails in aquatic ecosystems, whereas in terrestrial food webs trophic position is largely independent of body size. Compartmentalization of energy channeling according to size classes of consumers was suggested as a mechanism that underpins functioning and stability of terrestrial food webs including those belowground, but their structure has not been empirically assessed across the whole size spectrum. Here we used stable isotope analysis and metabolic regressions to describe size structure and energy use in eight belowground communities with consumers spanning 12 orders of magnitude in living body mass, from protists to earthworms. We showed a negative correlation between trophic position and body mass in invertebrate communities and a remarkable nonlinearity in community metabolism and trophic positions across all size classes. Specifically, we found that the correlation between body mass and trophic level is positive in the small-sized (protists, nematodes, arthropods below 1 μg in body mass), neutral in the medium-sized (arthropods of 1 μg to 1 mg), and negative in the large-sized consumers (large arthropods, earthworms), suggesting that these groups form compartments with different trophic organization. Based on this pattern, we propose a concept of belowground food webs being composed of (1) size-structured micro-food web driving fast energy channeling and nutrient release, for example in microbial loop; (2) arthropod macro-food web with no clear correlation between body size and trophic level, hosting soil arthropod diversity and subsidizing aboveground predators; and (3) "trophic whales," sequestering energy in their large bodies and restricting its propagation to higher trophic levels in belowground food webs. The three size compartments are based on a similar set of basal resources, but contribute to different ecosystem-level functions and respond differently to variations in climate, soil characteristics and land use. We suggest that the widely used vision of resource-based energy channeling in belowground food webs can be complemented with size-based energy channeling, where ecosystem multifunctionality, biodiversity, and stability are supported by a balance across individual size compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton M Potapov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Oksana L Rozanova
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Eugenia E Semenina
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladislav D Leonov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga I Belyakova
- Penza State University, Krasnaya Street 40, Penza, 440068, Russia
| | - Varvara Yu Bogatyreva
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maxim I Degtyarev
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anton S Esaulov
- Penza State University, Krasnaya Street 40, Penza, 440068, Russia
| | - Anastasiya Yu Korotkevich
- Institute of Biology and Chemistry, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Kibalchicha Street 6k3, 129164, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexey A Kudrin
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaja 28, 167000, Syktyvkar, Russia
| | | | - Yuri A Mazei
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia.,Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, 1 International University Park Road, Dayun New Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen, 517182, China
| | - Sergey M Tsurikov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrey G Zuev
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexei V Tiunov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
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Heather FJ, Blanchard JL, Edgar GJ, Trebilco R, Stuart‐Smith RD. Globally consistent reef size spectra integrating fishes and invertebrates. Ecol Lett 2020; 24:572-579. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Freddie J. Heather
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
| | - Julia L. Blanchard
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
| | - Graham J. Edgar
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
| | - Rowan Trebilco
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
| | - Rick D. Stuart‐Smith
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Hobart TAS7004Australia
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