Rescaling the trophic structure of marine food webs

Abstract

Measures of trophic position ( TP ) are critical for understanding food web interactions and human‐mediated ecosystem disturbance. Nitrogen stable isotopes (δ 15 N) provide a powerful tool to estimate TP but are limited by a pragmatic assumption that isotope discrimination is constant (change in δ 15 N between predator and prey, Δ 15 N = 3.4‰), resulting in an additive framework that omits known Δ 15 N variation. Through meta‐analysis, we determine narrowing discrimination from an empirical linear relationship between experimental Δ 15 N and δ 15 N values of prey consumed. The resulting scaled Δ 15 N framework estimated reliable TP s of zooplanktivores to tertiary piscivores congruent with known feeding relationships that radically alters the conventional structure of marine food webs. Apex predator TP estimates were markedly higher than currently assumed by whole‐ecosystem models, indicating perceived food webs have been truncated and species‐interactions over simplified. The scaled Δ 15 N framework will greatly improve the accuracy of trophic estimates widely used in ecosystem‐based management.

Shown for reading. Its publisher allows quoting it, not republishing it.

References 50

1. 1.

   Araújo MS, Bolnick DI, Layman CA. The ecological causes of individual specialisation. Ecol. Lett. 2011;14:948-958.

   Not in our library10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01662.x

2. 2.

   Bascompte J, Melián CJ, Sala E. Interaction strength combinations and the overfishing of a marine food web. P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2005;102:5443-5447.

   Not in our library10.1073/pnas.0501562102

3. 3.

   Branch TA, Watson R, Fulton EA, Jennings S, McGilliard CR, Pablico GT, et al. The trophic fingerprint of marine fisheries. Nature. 2010;468:431-435.

   Not in our library10.1038/nature09528

4. 4.

   Burkhard LP, Borga K, Powell DE, Leonards P, Muir DCG, Parkerton TF, et al. Improving the quality and scientific understanding of trophic mangification factors (TMFs). Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013;47:1186-1187.

   Not in our library10.1021/es305253r

5. 5.

   Carscallen WMA, Vandenberg K, Lawson JM, Martinez ND, Romanuk TN. Estimating trophic position in marine and estuarine food webs. Ecosphere. 2012;3:1-20.

   Not in our library

6. 6.

   Caut S, Angulo E, Courchamp F. Discimination factors (Δ15N and Δ13C) in a omnivorous consumer: the effect of diet isotopic ratio. Funct. Ecol. 2008;22:255-263.

   Not in our library

7. 7.

   Caut S, Angulo E, Courchamp F. Variation in discrimination factors (Δ15N and Δ13C): the effect of diet isotopic values and applications for diet reconstruction. J. Appl. Ecol. 2009;46:443-453.

   Not in our library

8. 8.

   Cortés E. Standardised diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 1999;56:707-717.

   Not in our library

9. 9.

   Cox SP, Essington TE, Kitchell JF, Martell SJD, Walters CJ, Boggs C, et al. Reconstructing ecosystem dynamics in the central Pacific Ocean 1952-1998. II. A preliminary assessment of the trophic impacts of fishing and effects on tuna dynamics. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2002;59:1736-1747.

   Not in our library

10. 10.

    Dame JK, Christian RR. Evaluation of ecological network analysis: validation of output. Ecol. Model. 2008;210:327-338.

    Not in our library

11. 11.

    Dennis CA, MacNeil MA, Rosati JY, Pitcher TE, Fisk AT. Diet discrimination factors are inversely related to Δ15N and Δ13C values of food for fish under controlled conditions. Rapid Commun. Mass Spec. 2010;24:3515-3520.

    Not in our library10.1002/rcm.4807

12. 12.

    Estrada JA, Rice AN, Lutcavage ME, Skomal GB. Predicting trophic position in sharks of the north-west Atlantic Ocean using stable isotope analysis. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK. 2003;83:1347-1350.

    Not in our library

13. 13.

    Fisk AT, Tittlemier SA, Pranschke JL, Norstrom RJ. Using anthropogenic contaminants and stable isotopes to assess the feeding ecology of Greenland sharks. Ecology. 2002;83:2162-2172.

    Not in our library

14. 14.

    Fulton EA, Smith ADM, Johnson CR. Effect of complexity on marine ecosystem models. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2003;253:1-16.

    Not in our library

15. 15.

    Fulton EA, Link JS, Kapaln IC, Savina-Rolland M, Johnson P, Ainsworth C, et al. Lessons in modelling and management of marine ecosystems: the Atlantis experience. Fish Fish. 2011;12:171-188.

    Not in our library

16. 16.

    Gelman A, Carlin JB, Stern HS, Rubin DB. Bayesian Data Analysis. 2006.

    Not in our library

17. 17.

    Germain LR, Koch PL, Harvey J, McCarthy MD. Nitrogen isotope fractionation in amino acids from harbor seals: implications for compound-specific trophic position calculations. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2013;482:265-277.

    Not in our library

18. 18.

    Hobson KA, Ambrose WG, Renaud PE. Sources of primary production, benthic-pelagic coupling and trophic relationships within the Northeast Water Polynya: insights from δ13C and δ15N analysis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1995;128:1-10.

    Not in our library

19. 19.

    Hussey NE, Dudley SFJ, McCarthy ID, Cliff G, Fisk AT. Stable isotope profiles of large marine predators: viable indicators of trophic position, diet, and movement in sharks? Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2011;68:2029-2045.

    Not in our library

20. 20.

    Hussey NE, McCann HM, Cliff G, Dudley SFJ, Wintner SP, Fisk AT, Domeier M. Size-based analysis of diet and trophic position of the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, in South African waters. Global Perspectives on the Biology and Life History of the White Shark. 2012a;27-49.

    Not in our library

21. 21.

    Kelly BC, Gobas FAPC, McLachlan MS. Intestinal absorption and biomagnification of organic contaminants in fish, wildlife, and humans. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2004;23:2324-2336.

    Not in our library10.1897/03-545

22. 22.

    Kitchell JF, Essington CH, Boggs DE, Schindler DE, Walters CJ. The role of sharks and longline fisheries in a pelagic ecosystem of the central Pacific. Ecosystems. 2002;5:202-216.

    Not in our library

23. 23.

    Lindeman RL. The trophic-dynamic aspect of ecology. Ecology. 1942;23:399-418.

    Not in our library

24. 24.

    MacNeil MA, McMeans BC, Hussey NE, Vecsei P, Svavarsson J, Kovacs KM, et al. Biology of the Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus Bloch and Schneider, 1801. J. Fish Biol. 2012;80:991-1018.

    Not in our library10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03257.x

25. 25.

    Madigan DJ, Litvin SY, Popp BN, Carlisle AB, Farwell CJ, Block BA. Tissue turnover rates and isotopic trophic discrimination factors in the endothermic teleost, Pacific Bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis. PLoS ONE. 2012;7:e49220.

    Not in our library10.1371/journal.pone.0049220

26. 26.

    Mancinelli G, Vizzini S, Mazzola A, Maci S, Basset A. Cross-validation of δ15N and FishBase estimates of fish trophic position in a Mediterranean lagoon: the importance of isotopic baseline. Estuar. Coast Shelf S. 2013.

    Not in our library

27. 27.

    Manickchand-Heileman S, Soto LA, Escobar E. A preliminary trophic model, south-western Gulf of Mexico. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1988;46:885-899.

    Not in our library

28. 28.

    McMeans BC, Svavarsson J, Dennard S, Fisk AT. Diet and resource use among Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) and teleosts sampled in Icelandic waters, using δ13C and δ15N, and mercury. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2010;67:1428-1438.

    Not in our library

29. 29.

    Menge BA, Sutherland JP. Species diversity gradients: synthesis of the roles of predation, competition, and temporal heterogeneity. Am. Nat. 1976;110:351-369.

    Not in our library

30. 30.

    Minagawa M, Wada E. Stepwise enrichment of 15N along food chains: further evidence and the relation between 15N and animal age. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac. 1984;48:1135-1140.

    Not in our library

31. 31.

    Myers RA, Baum JK, Shepherd TD, Powers SP, Peterson CH. Cascading effects of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a coastal ocean. Science. 2007;315:1846-1850.

    Not in our library10.1126/science.1138657

32. 32.

    Olive PJW, Pinnegar JK, Polunin NVC, Richards G, Welch R. Istope trophic-step fractionation: a dynamic equilibrium model. J. Anim. Ecol. 2003;72:608-617.

    Not in our library10.1046/j.1365-2656.2003.00730.x

33. 33.

    Overmyer JP, McNeil MA, Fisk AT. Fractionation and metabolic turnover of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in black fly larvae. Rapid Commun Mass Sp. 2008;22:694-700.

    Not in our library10.1002/rcm.3413

34. 34.

    Patil A, Huard D, Fonnesbeck C. Pymc 2.0: bayesian stochastic modelling in Python. J. Stat. Soft. 2010;35:1-78.

    Not in our library

35. 35.

    Pauly D, Christensen V, Dalsgaard J, Froese R, Torres F. Fishing down marine food webs. Science. 1998;279:860-863.

    Not in our library10.1126/science.279.5352.860

36. 36.

    Post DM. Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic position: models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology. 2002;83:703-718.

    Not in our library

37. 37.

    Robbins CT, Felicetti LA, Sponheimer M. The effect of dietary protein quality on nitrogen isotope discrimination in mammals and birds. Oecologia. 2005;144:534-540.

    Not in our library10.1007/s00442-005-0021-8

38. 38.

    Robbins CT, Felicetti LA, Florin ST. The impact of protein quality on stable nitrogen isotope ratio discrimination and assimilated diet estimation. Oecologia. 2010;162:571-579.

    Not in our library10.1007/s00442-009-1485-8

39. 39.

    Rodríguez-Marín E, Punzón A, Paz J. Feeding patterns of Greenland halibut (Rheinhardtius hippoglossoides) in Flemish Pass (Northwest Atlantic). NAFO Sci. Coun. Studies. 1995;23:43-54.

    Not in our library

40. 40.

    Rooney N, McCann KS, Moore JC. A landscape theory for food web architecture. Ecol. Lett. 2008;11:867-881.

    Not in our library10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01193.x

Cited by papers we hold 1

• Use of stable isotopes for assessing urbanization impacts on freshwater fishes · 2022
  Not checked

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.