Ecosystem status and functioning: Searching for rules of thumb using an intersite comparison of food-web models of Northeast Atlantic continental shelves

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Lassalle, Géraldine, Lobry, Jérémy, Le Loc’h, François, Mackinson, S., Sanchez, F., Tomczak, M.T., Niquil, N.
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Ecosystèmes Marins Exploités (UMR EME), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Normandie Université (NU)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2013
• Subjects: ecosystem structure; marine ecosystem; trophic structure; ecosystem function; ecological modeling; trophic level; Atlantic Ocean; continental shelf; food web; Bay of Biscay; Atlantic Ocean (Northeast); comparative studies; benthic-pelagic coupling; abundance; ecosystem model; graphical analysis; graphical method; stability; Ecopath with Ecosim; zooplankton; comparative study; [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment/Ecosystems; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02454848; https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss168

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]QUASARE International audience This work aimed to provide a better understanding of how the structure and function of marine ecosystems and trophic control mechanisms influence their response to perturbations. Comparative analysis of Ecopath models of four Northeast Atlantic ecosystems was used to search for rules of thumb defining the similarities and differences between them. Ecosystem indicators, related to the ecology of species interactions, were derived from these models and compared. Two main questions were addressed. (i) What are the main energy pathways and mechanisms of control? (ii) Do these ecosystems exhibit the widespread and potentially stabilizing food-web structure such that top predators couple distinct energy pathways? A strong bentho-pelagic coupling operated over the Bay of Biscay Shelf, while energy reached higher trophic levels mostly through pelagic compartments, in northern areas. Zooplankton was demonstrated to be trophically important in all ecosystems, acting as a regulator of the abundance of small pelagic fish. A latitudinal pattern in flow control was highlighted by this analysis, with a significant contribution of top-down effect at higher latitudes. This top-down control of the Baltic Sea, combined with the fact that this ecosystem did not exhibit the potentially stabilizing two-channel structure, suggested a non-stable environment. © 2012 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.