Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning
Studies of trophic interactions give valuable insights into the functioning of ecosystems and can be used to identify qualitative differences among ecosystems. Here, we use natural stable isotope concentrations (δ13C and δ15N) to study the food-web structure in four contrasting locations on the nort...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b50419462fe540898736dbce2557f5eb 2023-05-15T14:54:48+02:00 Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning Marc J. Silberberger Paul E. Renaud Ingrid Kröncke Henning Reiss 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 https://doaj.org/article/b50419462fe540898736dbce2557f5eb EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 https://doaj.org/article/b50419462fe540898736dbce2557f5eb Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 5 (2018) stable isotope analysis pelagic-benthic coupling benthic invertebrates fish North Sea sub-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 2022-12-31T03:16:55Z Studies of trophic interactions give valuable insights into the functioning of ecosystems and can be used to identify qualitative differences among ecosystems. Here, we use natural stable isotope concentrations (δ13C and δ15N) to study the food-web structure in four contrasting locations on the northern European continental shelf: two sub-Arctic locations in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region (fjord vs. open shelf) and two temperate locations (northern vs. southern North Sea). Phytoplankton was identified as the major primary producer in all studied ecosystems, even in the sub-Arctic fjord, where macroalgae only played a minor role in the food web. We used mixing models to determine the relative reliance on prey of benthic affinity and found that reliance on benthic prey was higher in the North Sea than in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was identified as the single top-predator in the North Sea, utilizing food from both benthic and pelagic trophic channels. More separate benthic and pelagic trophic channels characterize the Lofoten-Vesterålen region, where G. morhua acts as part of the pelagic food chain. Furthermore, our data indicate that the recent mesopredator outburst in the southern North Sea might have been enhanced by reduced predation pressure due to the collapse of the local cod stocks. We conclude that the resilience toward a high fishing pressure is higher in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region than in the North Sea. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Lofoten Phytoplankton Vesterålen Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Lofoten Vesterålen ENVELOPE(14.939,14.939,68.754,68.754) Frontiers in Marine Science 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
stable isotope analysis pelagic-benthic coupling benthic invertebrates fish North Sea sub-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
stable isotope analysis pelagic-benthic coupling benthic invertebrates fish North Sea sub-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Marc J. Silberberger Paul E. Renaud Ingrid Kröncke Henning Reiss Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
topic_facet |
stable isotope analysis pelagic-benthic coupling benthic invertebrates fish North Sea sub-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Studies of trophic interactions give valuable insights into the functioning of ecosystems and can be used to identify qualitative differences among ecosystems. Here, we use natural stable isotope concentrations (δ13C and δ15N) to study the food-web structure in four contrasting locations on the northern European continental shelf: two sub-Arctic locations in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region (fjord vs. open shelf) and two temperate locations (northern vs. southern North Sea). Phytoplankton was identified as the major primary producer in all studied ecosystems, even in the sub-Arctic fjord, where macroalgae only played a minor role in the food web. We used mixing models to determine the relative reliance on prey of benthic affinity and found that reliance on benthic prey was higher in the North Sea than in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was identified as the single top-predator in the North Sea, utilizing food from both benthic and pelagic trophic channels. More separate benthic and pelagic trophic channels characterize the Lofoten-Vesterålen region, where G. morhua acts as part of the pelagic food chain. Furthermore, our data indicate that the recent mesopredator outburst in the southern North Sea might have been enhanced by reduced predation pressure due to the collapse of the local cod stocks. We conclude that the resilience toward a high fishing pressure is higher in the Lofoten-Vesterålen region than in the North Sea. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marc J. Silberberger Paul E. Renaud Ingrid Kröncke Henning Reiss |
author_facet |
Marc J. Silberberger Paul E. Renaud Ingrid Kröncke Henning Reiss |
author_sort |
Marc J. Silberberger |
title |
Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
title_short |
Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
title_full |
Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
title_fullStr |
Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
title_full_unstemmed |
Food-Web Structure in Four Locations Along the European Shelf Indicates Spatial Differences in Ecosystem Functioning |
title_sort |
food-web structure in four locations along the european shelf indicates spatial differences in ecosystem functioning |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 https://doaj.org/article/b50419462fe540898736dbce2557f5eb |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(14.939,14.939,68.754,68.754) |
geographic |
Arctic Lofoten Vesterålen |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Lofoten Vesterålen |
genre |
Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Lofoten Phytoplankton Vesterålen |
genre_facet |
Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Lofoten Phytoplankton Vesterålen |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 5 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 https://doaj.org/article/b50419462fe540898736dbce2557f5eb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00119 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
5 |
_version_ |
1766326551877517312 |