Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau
Pteropods are a group of small marine gastropods that are highly sensitive to multiple stressors associated with climate change. Their trophic ecology is not well studied, with most research having focused primarily on the effects of ocean acidification on their fragile, aragonite shells. Stable iso...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:134314 2023-05-15T13:55:18+02:00 Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau Weldrick, CK Trebilco, R Davies, DM Swadling, KM 2019 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314 en eng John Wiley & Sons Ltd. http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314/1/134314 - Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 Weldrick, CK and Trebilco, R and Davies, DM and Swadling, KM, Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau, Ecology and Evolution, 9, (14) pp. 8119-8132. ISSN 2045-7758 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314 Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 2020-01-13T23:16:16Z Pteropods are a group of small marine gastropods that are highly sensitive to multiple stressors associated with climate change. Their trophic ecology is not well studied, with most research having focused primarily on the effects of ocean acidification on their fragile, aragonite shells. Stable isotopes analysis coupled with isotope‐based Bayesian niche metrics is useful for characterizing the trophic structure of biological assemblages. These approaches have not been implemented for pteropod assemblages. We used isotope‐based Bayesian niche metrics to investigate the trophic relationships of three co‐occurring pteropod species, with distinct feeding behaviors, sampled from the Southern Kerguelen Plateau area in the Indian Sector of the Southern Oceana biologically and economically important but poorly studied region. Two of these species were gymnosomes (shell‐less pteropods), which are traditionally regarded as specialist predators on other pteropods, and the third species was a thecosome (shelled pteropod), which are typically generalist omnivores. For each species, we aimed to understand (a) variability and overlap among isotopic niches; and (b) whether there was a relationship between body size and trophic position. Observed isotopic niche areas were broadest for gymnosomes, especially Clione limacina antarctica , whose observed isotopic niche area was wider than expected on both δ 13 C and δ 15 N value axes. We also found that trophic position significantly increased with increasing body length for Spongiobranchaea australis . We found no indication of a dietary shift toward increased trophic position with increasing body size for Clio pyramidata f. sulcata . Trophic positions ranged from 2.8 to 3.5, revealing an assemblage composed of both primary and secondary consumer behaviors. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis on trophodynamics in Southern Ocean pteropod species, and supports previous studies using gut content, fatty acid and stable isotope analyses. Combined, our results illustrate differences in intraspecific trophic behavior that may be attributed to differential feeding strategies at species level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Clione limacina Limacina antarctica Ocean acidification Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian Oceana ENVELOPE(-59.783,-59.783,-65.133,-65.133) Ecology and Evolution 9 14 8119 8132 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) Weldrick, CK Trebilco, R Davies, DM Swadling, KM Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
description |
Pteropods are a group of small marine gastropods that are highly sensitive to multiple stressors associated with climate change. Their trophic ecology is not well studied, with most research having focused primarily on the effects of ocean acidification on their fragile, aragonite shells. Stable isotopes analysis coupled with isotope‐based Bayesian niche metrics is useful for characterizing the trophic structure of biological assemblages. These approaches have not been implemented for pteropod assemblages. We used isotope‐based Bayesian niche metrics to investigate the trophic relationships of three co‐occurring pteropod species, with distinct feeding behaviors, sampled from the Southern Kerguelen Plateau area in the Indian Sector of the Southern Oceana biologically and economically important but poorly studied region. Two of these species were gymnosomes (shell‐less pteropods), which are traditionally regarded as specialist predators on other pteropods, and the third species was a thecosome (shelled pteropod), which are typically generalist omnivores. For each species, we aimed to understand (a) variability and overlap among isotopic niches; and (b) whether there was a relationship between body size and trophic position. Observed isotopic niche areas were broadest for gymnosomes, especially Clione limacina antarctica , whose observed isotopic niche area was wider than expected on both δ 13 C and δ 15 N value axes. We also found that trophic position significantly increased with increasing body length for Spongiobranchaea australis . We found no indication of a dietary shift toward increased trophic position with increasing body size for Clio pyramidata f. sulcata . Trophic positions ranged from 2.8 to 3.5, revealing an assemblage composed of both primary and secondary consumer behaviors. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis on trophodynamics in Southern Ocean pteropod species, and supports previous studies using gut content, fatty acid and stable isotope analyses. Combined, our results illustrate differences in intraspecific trophic behavior that may be attributed to differential feeding strategies at species level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Weldrick, CK Trebilco, R Davies, DM Swadling, KM |
author_facet |
Weldrick, CK Trebilco, R Davies, DM Swadling, KM |
author_sort |
Weldrick, CK |
title |
Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
title_short |
Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
title_full |
Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
title_fullStr |
Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau |
title_sort |
trophodynamics of southern ocean pteropods on the southern kerguelen plateau |
publisher |
John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-59.783,-59.783,-65.133,-65.133) |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian Oceana |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian Oceana |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Clione limacina Limacina antarctica Ocean acidification Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Clione limacina Limacina antarctica Ocean acidification Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314/1/134314 - Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 Weldrick, CK and Trebilco, R and Davies, DM and Swadling, KM, Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau, Ecology and Evolution, 9, (14) pp. 8119-8132. ISSN 2045-7758 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134314 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5380 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
14 |
container_start_page |
8119 |
op_container_end_page |
8132 |
_version_ |
1766261712124641280 |