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Young HS, McCauley FO, Micheli F, Dunbar RB, McCauley DJ. Shortened food chain length in a fished versus unfished coral reef. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024:e3002. [PMID: 38840322 DOI: 10.1002/eap.3002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Direct exploitation through fishing is driving dramatic declines of wildlife populations in ocean environments, particularly for predatory and large-bodied taxa. Despite wide recognition of this pattern and well-established consequences of such trophic downgrading on ecosystem function, there have been few empirical studies examining the effects of fishing on whole system trophic architecture. Understanding these kinds of structural impacts is especially important in coral reef ecosystems-often heavily fished and facing multiple stressors. Given the often high dietary flexibility and numerous functional redundancies in diverse ecosystems such as coral reefs, it is important to establish whether web architecture is strongly impacted by fishing pressure or whether it might be resilient, at least to moderate-intensity pressure. To examine this question, we used a combination of bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses measured across a range of predatory and low-trophic-level consumers between two coral reef ecosystems that differed with respect to fishing pressure but otherwise remained largely similar. We found that even in a high-diversity system with relatively modest fishing pressure, there were strong reductions in the trophic position (TP) of the three highest TP consumers examined in the fished system but no effects on the TP of lower-level consumers. We saw no evidence that this shortening of the affected food webs was being driven by changes in basal resource consumption, for example, through changes in the spatial location of foraging by consumers. Instead, this likely reflected internal changes in food web architecture, suggesting that even in diverse systems and with relatively modest pressure, human harvest causes significant compressions in food chain length. This observed shortening of these food webs may have many important emergent ecological consequences for the functioning of ecosystems impacted by fishing or hunting. Such important structural shifts may be widespread but unnoticed by traditional surveys. This insight may also be useful for applied ecosystem managers grappling with choices about the relative importance of protection for remote and pristine areas and the value of strict no-take areas to protect not just the raw constituents of systems affected by fishing and hunting but also the health and functionality of whole systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary S Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | | | - Fiorenza Micheli
- Oceans Department, Hopkins Marine Station, and Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, USA
| | - Robert B Dunbar
- Oceans Department and Earth Systems Science, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, USA
| | - Douglas J McCauley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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2
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Park JM, Jung HK, Lee CI, Park HJ. Temporal changes in the diet composition and trophic level of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) inhabiting the middle-eastern coast of Korea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 198:106493. [PMID: 38626629 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
The influences of oceanographic changes on diet composition and trophic level for pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) inhabiting the East Sea off the Korean coast were examined based on stomach content and stable isotope analyses during 2016 and 2017. The diets of pollock consisted mainly of benthic crustaceans (particularly carid shrimps and euphausiids) and cephalopods, with a predominance of teleosts in the diets of larger individuals in deeper habitats. In 2016, amphipods, carid shrimps and cephalopods featured strongly in pollock diets, and the contribution of amphipods decreased in the diets of larger individuals and deeper depths. In 2017, euphausiids dominated at shallower depths, whereas the contributions of carid shrimps and teleosts increased in deeper habitats. Body-size-related differences in carbon stable isotope (δ13C) values were present in both 2016 and 2017, but size-related differences in nitrogen stable isotope (δ15N) values were only observed in 2017. The increased contribution of euphausiids during 2017 resulted in a distinct decrease in the trophic level of pollock compared to co-occurring higher trophic level predators, which can be linked to changes in habitat water temperature. Combined stomach contents and isotopic analyses provide a more comprehensive understanding of how fish diets and trophic levels fluctuate with changes in the type and abundance of prey resources in response to environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joo Myun Park
- Dokdo Research Center, East Sea Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, Uljin 36315, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hae Kun Jung
- Fisheries Resources and Environment Research Division, East Sea Fisheries Research Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Gangneung 25435, Republic of Korea
| | - Chung Il Lee
- Department of Marine Bioscience, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Je Park
- Department of Marine Bioscience, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea
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3
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Gomes DGE, Ruzicka JJ, Crozier LG, Huff DD, Brodeur RD, Stewart JD. Marine heatwaves disrupt ecosystem structure and function via altered food webs and energy flux. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1988. [PMID: 38480718 PMCID: PMC10937662 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46263-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The prevalence and intensity of marine heatwaves is increasing globally, disrupting local environmental conditions. The individual and population-level impacts of prolonged heatwaves on marine species have recently been demonstrated, yet whole-ecosystem consequences remain unexplored. We leveraged time series abundance data of 361 taxa, grouped into 86 functional groups, from six long-term surveys, diet information from a new diet database, and previous modeling efforts, to build two food web networks using an extension of the popular Ecopath ecosystem modeling framework, Ecotran. We compare ecosystem models parameterized before and after the onset of recent marine heatwaves to evaluate the cascading effects on ecosystem structure and function in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. While the ecosystem-level contribution (prey) and demand (predators) of most functional groups changed following the heatwaves, gelatinous taxa experienced the largest transformations, underscored by the arrival of northward-expanding pyrosomes. We show altered trophic relationships and energy flux have potentially profound consequences for ecosystem structure and function, and raise concerns for populations of threatened and harvested species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G E Gomes
- Ocean Ecology Lab, Marine Mammal Institute, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, 97365, USA.
- National Academy of Sciences NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA.
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - James J Ruzicka
- Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Lisa G Crozier
- Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA
| | - David D Huff
- Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport, OR, 97365, USA
| | - Richard D Brodeur
- Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport, OR, 97365, USA
| | - Joshua D Stewart
- Ocean Ecology Lab, Marine Mammal Institute, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, 97365, USA
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4
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Climate-driven changes of global marine mercury cycles in 2100. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2202488120. [PMID: 36595667 PMCID: PMC9926249 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202488120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Human exposure to monomethylmercury (CH3Hg), a potent neurotoxin, is principally through the consumption of seafood. The formation of CH3Hg and its bioaccumulation in marine food webs experience ongoing impacts of global climate warming and ocean biogeochemistry alterations. Employing a series of sensitivity experiments, here we explicitly consider the effects of climate change on marine mercury (Hg) cycling within a global ocean model in the hypothesized twenty-first century under the business-as-usual scenario. Even though the overall prediction is subjected to significant uncertainty, we identify several important climate change impact pathways. Elevated seawater temperature exacerbates elemental Hg (Hg0) evasion, while decreased surface wind speed reduces air-sea exchange rates. The reduced export of particulate organic carbon shrinks the pool of potentially bioavailable divalent Hg (HgII) that can be methylated in the subsurface ocean, where shallower remineralization depth associated with lower productivity causes impairment of methylation activity. We also simulate an increase in CH3Hg photodemethylation potential caused by increased incident shortwave radiation and less attenuation by decreased sea ice and chlorophyll. The model suggests that these impacts can also be propagated to the CH3Hg concentration in the base of the marine food web. Our results offer insight into synergisms/antagonisms in the marine Hg cycling among different climate change stressors.
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5
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Yun HY, Larsen T, Choi B, Won E, Shin K. Amino acid nitrogen and carbon isotope data: Potential and implications for ecological studies. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8929. [PMID: 35784034 PMCID: PMC9163675 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Explaining food web dynamics, stability, and functioning depend substantially on understanding of feeding relations within a community. Bulk stable isotope ratios (SIRs) in natural abundance are well‐established tools to express direct and indirect feeding relations as continuous variables across time and space. Along with bulk SIRs, the SIRs of individual amino acids (AAs) are now emerging as a promising and complementary method to characterize the flow and transformation of resources across a diversity of organisms, from microbial domains to macroscopic consumers. This significant AA‐SIR capacity is based on empirical evidence that a consumer's SIR, specific to an individual AA, reflects its diet SIR coupled with a certain degree of isotopic differences between the consumer and its diet. However, many empirical ecologists are still unfamiliar with the scope of applicability and the interpretative power of AA‐SIR. To fill these knowledge gaps, we here describe a comprehensive approach to both carbon and nitrogen AA‐SIR assessment focusing on two key topics: pattern in AA‐isotope composition across spatial and temporal scales, and a certain variability of AA‐specific isotope differences between the diet and the consumer. On this basis we review the versatile applicability of AA‐SIR to improve our understanding of physiological processes as well as food web functioning, allowing us to reconstruct dominant basal dietary sources and trace their trophic transfers at the specimen and community levels. Given the insightful and opportunities of AA‐SIR, we suggest future applications for the dual use of carbon and nitrogen AA‐SIR to study more realistic food web structures and robust consumer niches, which are often very difficult to explain in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hee Young Yun
- Deparment of Marine Science and Convergent Technology Hanyang University Ansan Korea
| | - Thomas Larsen
- Department of Archaeology Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
| | - Bohyung Choi
- Deparment of Marine Science and Convergent Technology Hanyang University Ansan Korea
- Inland Fisheries Research Institute National Institute of Fisheries Science Geumsan‐gun Korea
| | - Eun‐Ji Won
- Deparment of Marine Science and Convergent Technology Hanyang University Ansan Korea
| | - Kyung‐Hoon Shin
- Deparment of Marine Science and Convergent Technology Hanyang University Ansan Korea
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John M. Grady
- National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, East Alton IL USA
| | - Anthony I. Dell
- National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, East Alton IL USA
- Department of Biology Washington University in St Louis St Louis MO USA
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7
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Changes in trophic structure of an exploited fish community at the centennial scale are linked to fisheries and climate forces. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4309. [PMID: 35279693 PMCID: PMC8918348 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08391-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how marine food webs are affected by anthropogenic stressors is an important steppingstone toward the improved management of natural resources. Stable isotope analysis of historical and modern samples spanning a century indicated that the niche width of an exploited fish community increased after the expansion of New Zealand fisheries. Since the 2000s most species increased their reliance on food webs supported by pelagic production, compared to coastal production supported by macroalgae, and shifted to a higher trophic level. Overall changes were coincident with ocean warming, climate oscillations, prey abundance and fishing intensity, but their effects were specific to each fish assemblage analyzed. Data derived from historical samples revealed how anthropogenic stressors can drive long-term shifts in the trophic structure of an exploited fish community.
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8
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Sen B, Li J, Lu L, Bai M, He Y, Wang G. Elemental Composition and Cell Mass Quantification of Cultured Thraustochytrids Unveil Their Large Contribution to Marine Carbon Pool. Mar Drugs 2021; 19:md19090493. [PMID: 34564155 PMCID: PMC8468426 DOI: 10.3390/md19090493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The element stoichiometry of bacteria has received considerable attention because of their significant role in marine ecosystems. However, relatively little is known about the composition of major structural elements of the unicellular heterotrophic protists—thraustochytrids, despite their widely recognized contribution to marine nutrient cycling. Here, we analyze the cell volume and elemental C, N, H, and S cell content of seven cultured thraustochytrids, isolated from different marine habitats, in the exponential and stationary growth phases. We further derive the relationships between the cell volume and elemental C and N content of the cultured thraustochytrids. The cell volumes varied significantly (p < 0.001) among the isolates, with median values of 96.9 and 212.5 μm3 in the exponential and stationary phases, respectively. Our results showed a significantly higher percentage of C (64.0 to 67.5) and H (9.9 to 13.2) but a lower percentage of N (1.86 to 2.16) and S (0.34 to 0.91) in the stationary phase, along with marked variations of C and N fractions among isolates in the exponential phase. The cell C (5.7 to 203.7 pg) and N (0.65 to 6.1 pg) content exhibited a significant (p < 0.001) linear relationship with the cell volume (27.7 to 510 μm3). On further analysis of the relationship across the two growth phases, we found the equation (cell C (pg) = 0.356 × cell volume (μm3) + 20.922) for stationary phase cells more appropriate for C estimation of natural thraustochytrids. This study provides the first experimental evidence of higher cell C density than the current estimate and relatively larger C contribution of thraustochytrids than bacteria to the marine organic pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biswarup Sen
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
| | - Jiaqian Li
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
| | - Lyu Lu
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
| | - Mohan Bai
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
| | - Yaodong He
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
| | - Guangyi Wang
- Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (B.S.); (J.L.); (L.L.); (M.B.); (Y.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Qingdao Institute Ocean Engineering, Tianjin University, Qingdao 266237, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-022-8740-210
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9
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Lazzari N, Becerro MA, Sanabria-Fernandez JA, Martín-López B. Assessing social-ecological vulnerability of coastal systems to fishing and tourism. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 784:147078. [PMID: 33905936 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Detecting areas with high social-ecological vulnerability (SEV) is essential to better inform management interventions for building resilience in coastal systems. The SEV framework, developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is a robust method to identify SEV of tropical coastal systems to climate change. Yet, the application of this framework to temperate regions and other drivers of change remains underexplored. This study operationalizes the SEV framework to assess the social-ecological implications of fishing and tourism in temperate coastal systems. We spatially represented the SEV of coastal systems and identified the social and ecological vulnerability dimensions underpinning this SEV. Our results demonstrate that different dimensions contribute differently to the SEV, suggesting the need for distinctive management intervention to reduce the vulnerability of coastal systems. Our findings also highlight that livelihood diversification and the protection of marine areas may be plausible strategies to build resilience in temperate coastal systems that face fishing and tourism pressures. With this study, we hope to encourage the application of the SEV framework to other drivers of change for building more resilient coastal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natali Lazzari
- The BITES lab, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acc Cala S Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes (Gerona), Spain.
| | - Mikel A Becerro
- The BITES lab, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acc Cala S Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes (Gerona), Spain.
| | - Jose A Sanabria-Fernandez
- The BITES lab, Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acc Cala S Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes (Gerona), Spain.
| | - Berta Martín-López
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Faculty of Sustainability, Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Universitätsallee 1, 21355 Lüneburg, Germany.
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10
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Capitani L, de Araujo JN, Vieira EA, Angelini R, Longo GO. Ocean Warming Will Reduce Standing Biomass in a Tropical Western Atlantic Reef Ecosystem. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00691-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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11
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Mattei F, Buonocore E, Franzese P, Scardi M. Global assessment of marine phytoplankton primary production: Integrating machine learning and environmental accounting models. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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12
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du Pontavice H, Gascuel D, Reygondeau G, Stock C, Cheung WWL. Climate-induced decrease in biomass flow in marine food webs may severely affect predators and ecosystem production. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:2608-2622. [PMID: 33660891 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Climate change impacts on marine life in the world ocean are expected to accelerate over the 21st century, affecting the structure and functioning of food webs. We analyzed a key aspect of this issue, focusing on the impact of changes in biomass flow within marine food webs and the resulting effects on ecosystem biomass and production. We used a modeling framework based on a parsimonious quasi-physical representation of biomass flow through the food web, to explore the future of marine consumer biomass and production at the global scale over the 21st century. Biomass flow is determined by three climate-related factors: primary production entering the food web, trophic transfer efficiency describing losses in biomass transfers from one trophic level (TL) to the next, and flow kinetic measuring the speed of biomass transfers within the food web. Using climate projections of three earth system models, we calculated biomass and production at each TL on a 1° latitude ×1° longitude grid of the global ocean under two greenhouse gas emission scenarios. We show that the alterations of the trophic functioning of marine ecosystems, mainly driven by faster and less efficient biomass transfers and decreasing primary production, would lead to a projected decline in total consumer biomass by 18.5% by 2090-2099 relative to 1986-2005 under the "no mitigation policy" scenario. The projected decrease in transfer efficiency is expected to amplify impacts at higher TLs, leading to a 21.3% decrease in abundance of predators and thus to a change in the overall trophic structure of marine ecosystems. Marine animal production is also projected to decline but to a lesser extent than biomass. Our study highlights that the temporal and spatial projected changes in biomass and production would imply direct repercussions on the future of world fisheries and beyond all services provided by Ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hubert du Pontavice
- ESE, Ecology and Ecosystem Health, Institut Agro, Inrae, Rennes, France
- Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Didier Gascuel
- ESE, Ecology and Ecosystem Health, Institut Agro, Inrae, Rennes, France
| | - Gabriel Reygondeau
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Charles Stock
- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - William W L Cheung
- Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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13
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Matthias BG, Hrabik TR, Hoffman JC, Gorman OT, Seider MJ, Sierszen ME, Vinson MR, Yule DL, Yurista PM. Trophic transfer efficiency in the Lake Superior food web: assessing the impacts of non-native species. JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH 2021; 47:1146-1158. [PMID: 35520458 PMCID: PMC9067395 DOI: 10.1016/j.jglr.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem-based management relies on understanding how perturbations influence ecosystem structure and function (e.g., invasive species, exploitation, abiotic changes). However, data on unimpacted systems are scarce, therefore, we often rely on impacted systems to make inferences about 'natural states.' Among the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Superior provides a unique case study to address non-native species impacts because the food web is dominated by native species. Additionally, Lake Superior is both vertically (benthic versus pelagic) and horizontally (nearshore versus offshore) structured by depth, providing an opportunity to compare the function of these sub-food webs. We developed an updated Lake Superior EcoPath model using data from the 2005/2006 lake-wide multi-agency surveys covering multiple trophic levels. We then compared trophic transfer efficiency (TTE) to previously published EcoPath models. Finally, we compared ecosystem function of the 2005/2006 ecosystem to that with non-native linkages removed and compared native versus non-native species-specific approximations of TTE and trophic flow. Lake Superior was relatively efficient (TTE = 0.14) compared to systems reported in a global review (average TTE = 0.09) and the microbial loop was highly efficient (TTE > 0.20). Non-native species represented a very small proportion (<0.01%) of total biomass and were generally more efficient and had higher trophic flow compared to native species. Our results provide valuable insight into the importance of the microbial loop and represent a baseline estimate of non-native species impacts on Lake Superior. Finally, this work is a starting point for further model development to predict future changes in the Lake Superior ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- B G Matthias
- Biology Department, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1035 Kirby Drive, 207 Swenson Science Building, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
| | - T R Hrabik
- Biology Department, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1035 Kirby Drive, 207 Swenson Science Building, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
| | - J C Hoffman
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - O T Gorman
- US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Superior Biological Station, 2800 Lake Shore Dr. East, Ashland, WI 54806, USA
| | - M J Seider
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ashland Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Lake Shore Dr. East, Ashland, WI 54806, USA
| | - M E Sierszen
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - M R Vinson
- US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Superior Biological Station, 2800 Lake Shore Dr. East, Ashland, WI 54806, USA
| | - D L Yule
- US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Superior Biological Station, 2800 Lake Shore Dr. East, Ashland, WI 54806, USA
| | - P M Yurista
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, MN 55804, USA
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14
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Eddy TD, Bernhardt JR, Blanchard JL, Cheung WW, Colléter M, du Pontavice H, Fulton EA, Gascuel D, Kearney KA, Petrik CM, Roy T, Rykaczewski RR, Selden R, Stock CA, Wabnitz CC, Watson RA. Energy Flow Through Marine Ecosystems: Confronting Transfer Efficiency. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:76-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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15
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Alabia ID, Molinos JG, Saitoh SI, Hirata T, Hirawake T, Mueter FJ. Multiple facets of marine biodiversity in the Pacific Arctic under future climate. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 744:140913. [PMID: 32721679 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is triggering a global reorganization of marine life. Biogeographical transition zones, diversity-rich regions straddling biogeographical units where many species live at, or close to, their physiological tolerance limits (i.e., range distribution edges), are redistribution hotspots that offer a unique opportunity to understand the mechanisms and consequences of climate-driven thermophilization processes in natural communities. In this context, we examined the impacts of climate change projections in the 21st century (2026-2100) on marine biodiversity in the Eastern Bering and Chukchi seas within the Pacific Arctic, a climatically exposed and sensitive boreal-to-Arctic transition zone. Overall, projected changes in species distributions, modeled using species distribution models, resulted in poleward increases in species richness and functional redundancy, along with pronounced reductions in phylogenetic distances by century's end (2076-2100). Future poleward shifts of boreal species in response to warming and sea ice changes are projected to alter the taxonomic and functional biogeography of contemporary Arctic communities as larger, longer-lived and more predatory taxa expand their leading distributional margins. Drawing from the existing evidence from other Arctic regions, these changes are anticipated to increase the susceptibility and vulnerability of the Arctic ecosystems, as trophic connectance between biological components increases, thus decreasing the modularity of Arctic food webs. Our results demonstrate how integrating multiple diversity facets can provide key insights into the relationships between climate change, species composition and ecosystem functioning across marine biogeographic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene D Alabia
- Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, N21 W11 Kita-ku, 001-0021 Sapporo, Japan.
| | - Jorge García Molinos
- Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, N21 W11 Kita-ku, 001-0021 Sapporo, Japan; Global Station for Arctic Research, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan; Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Sei-Ichi Saitoh
- Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, N21 W11 Kita-ku, 001-0021 Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takafumi Hirata
- Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, N21 W11 Kita-ku, 001-0021 Sapporo, Japan; Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Toru Hirawake
- Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 041-8611 Hakodate, Japan
| | - Franz J Mueter
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, AK, 99801 United States of America
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Enhanced fish production during a period of extreme global warmth. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5636. [PMID: 33159071 PMCID: PMC7648762 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19462-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine ecosystem models predict a decline in fish production with anthropogenic ocean warming, but how fish production equilibrates to warming on longer timescales is unclear. We report a positive nonlinear correlation between ocean temperature and pelagic fish production during the extreme global warmth of the Early Paleogene Period (62-46 million years ago [Ma]). Using data-constrained modeling, we find that temperature-driven increases in trophic transfer efficiency (the fraction of production passed up trophic levels) and primary production can account for the observed increase in fish production, while changes in predator-prey interactions cannot. These data provide new insight into upper-trophic-level processes constrained from the geological record, suggesting that long-term warming may support more productive food webs in subtropical pelagic ecosystems.
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Maureaud A, Andersen KH, Zhang L, Lindegren M. Trait-based food web model reveals the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1497-1510. [PMID: 32162299 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The concept of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) has been studied over the last three decades using experiments, theoretical models and more recently observational data. While theoretical models revealed that species richness is the best metric summarizing ecosystem functioning, it is clear that ecosystem function is explained by other variables besides species richness. Additionally, theoretical models rarely focus on more than one ecosystem function, limiting ecosystem functioning to biomass or production. There is a lack of theoretical background to verify how other components of biodiversity and species interactions support ecosystem functioning. Here, using simulations from a food web model based on a community assembly process and a trait-based approach, we test how species biodiversity, food web structure and predator-prey interactions determine several ecosystem functions (biomass, metabolism, production and productivity). Our results demonstrate that the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning depends on the type of ecosystem function considered and the importance of diversity and food web structure differs across functions. Particularly, we show that dominance plays a major role in determining the level of biomass, and it is at least as important as the number of species. We find that dominance occurs in the food web when species do not experience strong predation. By manipulating the structure of the food web, we show that species using a wider trait space (generalist communities) result in more connected food webs and generally reach the same level of functioning with less species. The model shows the importance of generalist versus specialist communities on BEF relationships, and as such, empirical studies should focus on quantifying the importance of diet/habitat use on ecosystem functioning. Our study provides a better understanding of BEF underlying mechanisms and generates research hypotheses that can be considered and tested in observational studies. We recommend that studies investigating links between biodiversity and ecosystem functions should include metrics of dominance, species composition, trophic structure and possibly environmental trait space. We also advise that more effort should be made into calculating several ecosystem functions and properties with data from natural multitrophic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurore Maureaud
- Centre for Ocean Life, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ken H Andersen
- Centre for Ocean Life, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lai Zhang
- School of Mathematical Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Martin Lindegren
- Centre for Ocean Life, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
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Mattei F, Scardi M. Embedding ecological knowledge into artificial neural network training: A marine phytoplankton primary production model case study. Ecol Modell 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.108985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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du Pontavice H, Gascuel D, Reygondeau G, Maureaud A, Cheung WWL. Climate change undermines the global functioning of marine food webs. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:1306-1318. [PMID: 31802576 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Sea water temperature affects all biological and ecological processes that ultimately impact ecosystem functioning. In this study, we examine the influence of temperature on global biomass transfers from marine secondary production to fish stocks. By combining fisheries catches in all coastal ocean areas and life-history traits of exploited marine species, we provide global estimates of two trophic transfer parameters which determine biomass flows in coastal marine food web: the trophic transfer efficiency (TTE) and the biomass residence time (BRT) in the food web. We find that biomass transfers in tropical ecosystems are less efficient and faster than in areas with cooler waters. In contrast, biomass transfers through the food web became faster and more efficient between 1950 and 2010. Using simulated changes in sea water temperature from three Earth system models, we project that the mean TTE in coastal waters would decrease from 7.7% to 7.2% between 2010 and 2100 under the 'no effective mitigation' representative concentration pathway (RCP8.5), while BRT between trophic levels 2 and 4 is projected to decrease from 2.7 to 2.3 years on average. Beyond the global trends, we show that the TTEs and BRTs may vary substantially among ecosystem types and that the polar ecosystems may be the most impacted ecosystems. The detected and projected changes in mean TTE and BRT will undermine food web functioning. Our study provides quantitative understanding of temperature effects on trophodynamic of marine ecosystems under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hubert du Pontavice
- Agrocampus Ouest, Ecology and Ecosystem Health Research Unit, Rennes, France
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Didier Gascuel
- Agrocampus Ouest, Ecology and Ecosystem Health Research Unit, Rennes, France
| | - Gabriel Reygondeau
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Max Planck, Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Aurore Maureaud
- Centre for Ocean Life, National Institute of Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua), Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - William W L Cheung
- Changing Ocean Research Unit, Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Dubois M, Gascuel D, Coll M, Claudet J. Recovery Debts Can Be Revealed by Ecosystem Network-Based Approaches. Ecosystems 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-018-0294-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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21
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Capodici F, Ciraolo G, Cosoli S, Maltese A, Mangano MC, Sarà G. Downscaling hydrodynamics features to depict causes of major productivity of Sicilian-Maltese area and implications for resource management. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 628-629:815-825. [PMID: 29455131 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Chlorophyll-a (CHL-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) are generally accepted as proxies for water quality. They can be easily retrieved in a quasi-near real time mode through satellite remote sensing and, as such, they provide an overview of the water quality on a synoptic scale in open waters. Their distributions evolve in space and time in response to local and remote forcing, such as winds and currents, which however have much finer temporal and spatial scales than those resolvable by satellites in spite of recent advances in satellite remote-sensing techniques. Satellite data are often characterized by a moderate temporal resolution to adequately catch the actual sub-grid physical processes. Conventional pointwise measurements can resolve high-frequency motions such as tides or high-frequency wind-driven currents, however they are inadequate to resolve their spatial variability over wide areas. We show in this paper that a combined use of near-surface currents, available through High-Frequency (HF) radars, and satellite data (e.g., TERRA and AQUA/MODIS), can properly resolve the main oceanographic features in both coastal and open-sea regions, particularly at the coastal boundaries where satellite imageries fail, and are complementary tools to interpret ocean productivity and resource management in the Sicily Channel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulvio Capodici
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Ambientale, Aerospaziale, dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Bld. 8 Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Ciraolo
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Ambientale, Aerospaziale, dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Bld. 8 Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy.
| | - Simone Cosoli
- Ocean Graduate School and the Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway Perth, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Antonino Maltese
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Ambientale, Aerospaziale, dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Bld. 8 Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy.
| | - M Cristina Mangano
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del mare, DiSTeM, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
| | - Gianluca Sarà
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del mare, DiSTeM, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
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