Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean)
Myctophids are the most abundant and diverse mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean. They are a conduit of energy between primary consumers and higher marine predators, and between the surface layers and the mesopelagic depths. However, there remain major uncertainties about their ecology, particu...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 https://doaj.org/article/7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd 2023-05-15T14:06:37+02:00 Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) Ryan A. Saunders Simeon L. Hill Geraint A. Tarling Eugene J. Murphy 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 https://doaj.org/article/7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 https://doaj.org/article/7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 6 (2019) Myctophidae food web feeding ecology Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 2022-12-31T03:28:33Z Myctophids are the most abundant and diverse mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean. They are a conduit of energy between primary consumers and higher marine predators, and between the surface layers and the mesopelagic depths. However, there remain major uncertainties about their ecology, particularly regarding their role in Southern Ocean food webs in waters south of the Antarctic Polar Front, which are often regarded as dominated by Antarctic krill. Limited data on the feeding ecology of myctophids has made it difficult to assess the importance of myctophids as consumers of krill and how they fit in the traditional view of a krill-dominated system (diatom-krill-higher predator). We provide a new assessment of the role of myctophids in Southern Ocean food webs using information from recent trophodynamic studies of myctophids conducted in the Scotia Sea, one of the most productive regions of the Southern Ocean and a region that sustains both major populations of higher predators (sea birds, seals, whales) and important commercial fisheries (krill, toothfish, and mackerel icefish). Collectively, these data show that myctophids have a central role in Southern Ocean food webs as both predators and prey. Large myctophid species are prevalent consumers of krill throughout their distributional range and in different seasons in the Scotia Sea. Moreover, best estimates of both myctophid and higher predator consumption of krill to date indicate that large myctophids are the greatest predators of krill in this region, consuming almost as much krill as do all other vertebrates. Nevertheless, there are several smaller myctophid species that do not eat krill, instead consuming copepods and other small euphausiids. Myctophids therefore link primary producers to higher predators through both krill-dependent and krill-independent trophic pathways, emphasizing their importance in regional food webs. Consequently, trophic pathways involving large myctophids are unlikely to be exempt from the direct consequences of projected ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Icefish Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Copepods Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Scotia Sea Frontiers in Marine Science 6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Myctophidae food web feeding ecology Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
Myctophidae food web feeding ecology Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Ryan A. Saunders Simeon L. Hill Geraint A. Tarling Eugene J. Murphy Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
topic_facet |
Myctophidae food web feeding ecology Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Myctophids are the most abundant and diverse mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean. They are a conduit of energy between primary consumers and higher marine predators, and between the surface layers and the mesopelagic depths. However, there remain major uncertainties about their ecology, particularly regarding their role in Southern Ocean food webs in waters south of the Antarctic Polar Front, which are often regarded as dominated by Antarctic krill. Limited data on the feeding ecology of myctophids has made it difficult to assess the importance of myctophids as consumers of krill and how they fit in the traditional view of a krill-dominated system (diatom-krill-higher predator). We provide a new assessment of the role of myctophids in Southern Ocean food webs using information from recent trophodynamic studies of myctophids conducted in the Scotia Sea, one of the most productive regions of the Southern Ocean and a region that sustains both major populations of higher predators (sea birds, seals, whales) and important commercial fisheries (krill, toothfish, and mackerel icefish). Collectively, these data show that myctophids have a central role in Southern Ocean food webs as both predators and prey. Large myctophid species are prevalent consumers of krill throughout their distributional range and in different seasons in the Scotia Sea. Moreover, best estimates of both myctophid and higher predator consumption of krill to date indicate that large myctophids are the greatest predators of krill in this region, consuming almost as much krill as do all other vertebrates. Nevertheless, there are several smaller myctophid species that do not eat krill, instead consuming copepods and other small euphausiids. Myctophids therefore link primary producers to higher predators through both krill-dependent and krill-independent trophic pathways, emphasizing their importance in regional food webs. Consequently, trophic pathways involving large myctophids are unlikely to be exempt from the direct consequences of projected ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ryan A. Saunders Simeon L. Hill Geraint A. Tarling Eugene J. Murphy |
author_facet |
Ryan A. Saunders Simeon L. Hill Geraint A. Tarling Eugene J. Murphy |
author_sort |
Ryan A. Saunders |
title |
Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
title_short |
Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
title_full |
Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
title_fullStr |
Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Myctophid Fish (Family Myctophidae) Are Central Consumers in the Food Web of the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) |
title_sort |
myctophid fish (family myctophidae) are central consumers in the food web of the scotia sea (southern ocean) |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 https://doaj.org/article/7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Scotia Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Scotia Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Icefish Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Copepods |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Icefish Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Copepods |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 6 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 https://doaj.org/article/7dd77383ae0f4d4d966552ea3d0a0dfd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00530 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
6 |
_version_ |
1766278609391058944 |