The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity
Understanding the mechanisms that structure communities and influence biodiversity are fundamental goals of ecology. To test the hypothesis that the abundance and diversity of upper-trophic level predators (seabirds) is related to the underlying abundance and diversity of their prey (zooplankton) an...
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ftplymouthml:oai:plymsea.ac.uk:5769 2023-05-15T15:43:53+02:00 The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity Henry, MF Batten, SD Hyrenbach, KD Morgan, KH Sydeman, WJ 2007 http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/5769/ unknown Henry, MF; Batten, SD; Hyrenbach, KD; Morgan, KH; Sydeman, WJ. 2007 The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity. UNSPECIFIED. Publication - Book NonPeerReviewed 2007 ftplymouthml 2022-09-13T05:48:25Z Understanding the mechanisms that structure communities and influence biodiversity are fundamental goals of ecology. To test the hypothesis that the abundance and diversity of upper-trophic level predators (seabirds) is related to the underlying abundance and diversity of their prey (zooplankton) and ecosystem-wide energy availability (primary production), we initiated a monitoring program in 2002 that jointly and repeatedly surveys seabird and zooplankton populations across a 7,500 km British Columbia-Bering Sea-Japan transect. Seabird distributions were recorded by a single observer (MH) using a strip-width technique, mesozooplankton samples were collected with a Continuous Plankton Recorder, and primary production levels were derived using the appropriate satellite parameters and the Vertically Generalized Production Model (Behrenfeld and Falkowski 1997). Each trophic level showed clear spatio-temporal patterns over the course of the study. The strongest relationship between seabird abundance and diversity and the lower trophic levels was observed in March/April ('spring') and significant relationships were also found through June/July ('summer'). No discernable relationships were observed during the September/October ('fall') months. Overall, mesozooplankton abundance and biomass explained the dominant portion of seabird abundance and diversity indices (richness, Simpson's Index, and evenness), while primary production was only related to seabird richness. These findings underscore the notion that perturbations of ocean productivity and lower trophic level ecosystem constituents influenced by climate change, such as shifts in timing (phenology) and synchronicity (match-mismatch), could impart far-reaching consequences throughout the marine food web. Text Bering Sea Subarctic Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) Bering Sea Pacific |
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Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) |
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Understanding the mechanisms that structure communities and influence biodiversity are fundamental goals of ecology. To test the hypothesis that the abundance and diversity of upper-trophic level predators (seabirds) is related to the underlying abundance and diversity of their prey (zooplankton) and ecosystem-wide energy availability (primary production), we initiated a monitoring program in 2002 that jointly and repeatedly surveys seabird and zooplankton populations across a 7,500 km British Columbia-Bering Sea-Japan transect. Seabird distributions were recorded by a single observer (MH) using a strip-width technique, mesozooplankton samples were collected with a Continuous Plankton Recorder, and primary production levels were derived using the appropriate satellite parameters and the Vertically Generalized Production Model (Behrenfeld and Falkowski 1997). Each trophic level showed clear spatio-temporal patterns over the course of the study. The strongest relationship between seabird abundance and diversity and the lower trophic levels was observed in March/April ('spring') and significant relationships were also found through June/July ('summer'). No discernable relationships were observed during the September/October ('fall') months. Overall, mesozooplankton abundance and biomass explained the dominant portion of seabird abundance and diversity indices (richness, Simpson's Index, and evenness), while primary production was only related to seabird richness. These findings underscore the notion that perturbations of ocean productivity and lower trophic level ecosystem constituents influenced by climate change, such as shifts in timing (phenology) and synchronicity (match-mismatch), could impart far-reaching consequences throughout the marine food web. |
format |
Text |
author |
Henry, MF Batten, SD Hyrenbach, KD Morgan, KH Sydeman, WJ |
spellingShingle |
Henry, MF Batten, SD Hyrenbach, KD Morgan, KH Sydeman, WJ The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
author_facet |
Henry, MF Batten, SD Hyrenbach, KD Morgan, KH Sydeman, WJ |
author_sort |
Henry, MF |
title |
The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
title_short |
The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
title_full |
The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
title_fullStr |
The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
title_full_unstemmed |
The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
title_sort |
meso-scale response of subarctic north pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/5769/ |
geographic |
Bering Sea Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea Pacific |
genre |
Bering Sea Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Bering Sea Subarctic |
op_relation |
Henry, MF; Batten, SD; Hyrenbach, KD; Morgan, KH; Sydeman, WJ. 2007 The meso-scale response of subarctic North Pacific seabird community structure to lower trophic level abundance and diversity. UNSPECIFIED. |
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1766378088115994624 |