Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica
In recent years, there has been a shift away from the long-standing paradigm in which a short, krill-dominated food chain was considered to be the central element in Southern Ocean food webs. Instead, there is now increasing recognition that alternative energy pathways through mid-trophic level grou...
Published in: | Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/143869 |
id |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:143869 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:143869 2023-05-15T13:59:46+02:00 Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica McCormack, SA Melbourne-Thomas, J Trebilco, R Blanchard, JL Constable, A 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/143869 en eng Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 McCormack, SA and Melbourne-Thomas, J and Trebilco, R and Blanchard, JL and Constable, A, Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 174 Article 104613. ISSN 0967-0645 (2020) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/143869 Biological Sciences Ecology Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 2021-10-04T22:17:17Z In recent years, there has been a shift away from the long-standing paradigm in which a short, krill-dominated food chain was considered to be the central element in Southern Ocean food webs. Instead, there is now increasing recognition that alternative energy pathways through mid-trophic level groups (mesopelagic fish and squid) may be equally (if not more) important than the krill pathway in many regions. Ecosystem models are a valuable tool to synthesise existing data on the structure of marine food webs and to visualise and quantify alternative energy pathways. In this study we develop a static mass balance food web model for the southern Kerguelen Axis region (Prydz Bay and Princess Elizabeth Trough) to evaluate the importance of alternative energy pathways through mid-trophic level groups, including fish, squid and krill, in maintaining energy flow to top predators within East Antarctica. Our model reveals several major trophic pathways distinct from, and equally important to the Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) pathway. Using simple scenarios of reductions in krill biomass, we investigate how the system might switch to a state dominated by fish and squid pathways with the response of krill-reliant predators strongly dependent on their ability to switch to other prey sources. We conclude by discussing what these findings might suggest for the future vulnerability of East Antarctic food webs and the implications for future modelling work in the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica East Antarctica Euphausia superba Prydz Bay Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic East Antarctica Kerguelen Princess Elizabeth Trough ENVELOPE(83.000,83.000,-64.167,-64.167) Prydz Bay Southern Ocean The Antarctic Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 174 104613 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) McCormack, SA Melbourne-Thomas, J Trebilco, R Blanchard, JL Constable, A Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) |
description |
In recent years, there has been a shift away from the long-standing paradigm in which a short, krill-dominated food chain was considered to be the central element in Southern Ocean food webs. Instead, there is now increasing recognition that alternative energy pathways through mid-trophic level groups (mesopelagic fish and squid) may be equally (if not more) important than the krill pathway in many regions. Ecosystem models are a valuable tool to synthesise existing data on the structure of marine food webs and to visualise and quantify alternative energy pathways. In this study we develop a static mass balance food web model for the southern Kerguelen Axis region (Prydz Bay and Princess Elizabeth Trough) to evaluate the importance of alternative energy pathways through mid-trophic level groups, including fish, squid and krill, in maintaining energy flow to top predators within East Antarctica. Our model reveals several major trophic pathways distinct from, and equally important to the Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) pathway. Using simple scenarios of reductions in krill biomass, we investigate how the system might switch to a state dominated by fish and squid pathways with the response of krill-reliant predators strongly dependent on their ability to switch to other prey sources. We conclude by discussing what these findings might suggest for the future vulnerability of East Antarctic food webs and the implications for future modelling work in the region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McCormack, SA Melbourne-Thomas, J Trebilco, R Blanchard, JL Constable, A |
author_facet |
McCormack, SA Melbourne-Thomas, J Trebilco, R Blanchard, JL Constable, A |
author_sort |
McCormack, SA |
title |
Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
title_short |
Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
title_full |
Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica |
title_sort |
alternative energy pathways in southern ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of prydz bay, antarctica |
publisher |
Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/143869 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(83.000,83.000,-64.167,-64.167) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica Kerguelen Princess Elizabeth Trough Prydz Bay Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica Kerguelen Princess Elizabeth Trough Prydz Bay Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica East Antarctica Euphausia superba Prydz Bay Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica East Antarctica Euphausia superba Prydz Bay Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 McCormack, SA and Melbourne-Thomas, J and Trebilco, R and Blanchard, JL and Constable, A, Alternative energy pathways in Southern Ocean food webs: insights from a balanced model of Prydz Bay, Antarctica, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 174 Article 104613. ISSN 0967-0645 (2020) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/143869 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.07.001 |
container_title |
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
container_volume |
174 |
container_start_page |
104613 |
_version_ |
1766268570745962496 |