Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators
Individual specialization (IS), where individuals within populations irrespective of age, sex, and body size are either specialized or generalized in terms of resource use, has implications on ecological niches and food web structure. Niche size and degree of IS of near-top trophic-level marine pred...
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Online Access: | https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/469 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1980 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/glierpub/article/1471/viewcontent/Ecology_and_Evolution___2016___Yurkowski___Latitudinal_variation_in_ecological_opportunity_and_intraspecific_competition.pdf |
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:glierpub-1471 2023-06-11T04:07:58+02:00 Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators Yurkowski, David J Ferguson, Steven Choy, Emily S Loseto, Lisa L Brown, Tanya M Muir, Derek CG Semeniuk, Christina AD Fisk, Aaron T 2016-01-05T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/469 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1980 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/glierpub/article/1471/viewcontent/Ecology_and_Evolution___2016___Yurkowski___Latitudinal_variation_in_ecological_opportunity_and_intraspecific_competition.pdf unknown Scholarship at UWindsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/469 doi:10.1002/ece3.1980 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/glierpub/article/1471/viewcontent/Ecology_and_Evolution___2016___Yurkowski___Latitudinal_variation_in_ecological_opportunity_and_intraspecific_competition.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications Beluga whale generalist marine mammals ringed seal stable isotopes trophic ecology Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology Biodiversity Biology Life Sciences Marine Biology text 2016 ftunivwindsor https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1980 2023-05-06T19:10:57Z Individual specialization (IS), where individuals within populations irrespective of age, sex, and body size are either specialized or generalized in terms of resource use, has implications on ecological niches and food web structure. Niche size and degree of IS of near-top trophic-level marine predators have been little studied in polar regions or with latitude. We quantified the largescale latitudinal variation of population- and individual-level niche size and IS in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on 379 paired ringed seal liver and muscle samples and 124 paired beluga skin and muscle samples from eight locations ranging from the low to high Arctic. We characterized both withinand between-individual variation in predator niche size at each location as well as accounting for spatial differences in the isotopic ranges of potential prey. Total isotopic niche width (TINW) for populations of ringed seals and beluga decreased with increasing latitude. Higher TINW values were associated with greater ecological opportunity (i.e., prey diversity) in the prey fish community which mainly consists of Capelin (Mallotus villosus) and Sand lance (Ammodytes sp.) at lower latitudes and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) at high latitudes. In beluga, their dietary consistency between tissues also known as the within-individual component (WIC) increased in a near 1:1 ratio with TINW (slope = 0.84), suggesting dietary generalization, whereas the slope (0.18) of WIC relative to TINW in ringed seals indicated a high degree of individual specialization in ringed seal populations with higher TINWs. Our findings highlight the differences in TINW and level of IS for ringed seals and beluga relative to latitude as a likely response to large-scale spatial variation in ecological opportunity, suggesting species-specific variation in dietary plasticity to spatial differences in prey resources and environmental conditions in a rapidly changing ecosystem. Text Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic Ecology and Evolution 6 6 1666 1678 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Beluga whale generalist marine mammals ringed seal stable isotopes trophic ecology Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology Biodiversity Biology Life Sciences Marine Biology |
spellingShingle |
Beluga whale generalist marine mammals ringed seal stable isotopes trophic ecology Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology Biodiversity Biology Life Sciences Marine Biology Yurkowski, David J Ferguson, Steven Choy, Emily S Loseto, Lisa L Brown, Tanya M Muir, Derek CG Semeniuk, Christina AD Fisk, Aaron T Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
topic_facet |
Beluga whale generalist marine mammals ringed seal stable isotopes trophic ecology Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology Biodiversity Biology Life Sciences Marine Biology |
description |
Individual specialization (IS), where individuals within populations irrespective of age, sex, and body size are either specialized or generalized in terms of resource use, has implications on ecological niches and food web structure. Niche size and degree of IS of near-top trophic-level marine predators have been little studied in polar regions or with latitude. We quantified the largescale latitudinal variation of population- and individual-level niche size and IS in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on 379 paired ringed seal liver and muscle samples and 124 paired beluga skin and muscle samples from eight locations ranging from the low to high Arctic. We characterized both withinand between-individual variation in predator niche size at each location as well as accounting for spatial differences in the isotopic ranges of potential prey. Total isotopic niche width (TINW) for populations of ringed seals and beluga decreased with increasing latitude. Higher TINW values were associated with greater ecological opportunity (i.e., prey diversity) in the prey fish community which mainly consists of Capelin (Mallotus villosus) and Sand lance (Ammodytes sp.) at lower latitudes and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) at high latitudes. In beluga, their dietary consistency between tissues also known as the within-individual component (WIC) increased in a near 1:1 ratio with TINW (slope = 0.84), suggesting dietary generalization, whereas the slope (0.18) of WIC relative to TINW in ringed seals indicated a high degree of individual specialization in ringed seal populations with higher TINWs. Our findings highlight the differences in TINW and level of IS for ringed seals and beluga relative to latitude as a likely response to large-scale spatial variation in ecological opportunity, suggesting species-specific variation in dietary plasticity to spatial differences in prey resources and environmental conditions in a rapidly changing ecosystem. |
format |
Text |
author |
Yurkowski, David J Ferguson, Steven Choy, Emily S Loseto, Lisa L Brown, Tanya M Muir, Derek CG Semeniuk, Christina AD Fisk, Aaron T |
author_facet |
Yurkowski, David J Ferguson, Steven Choy, Emily S Loseto, Lisa L Brown, Tanya M Muir, Derek CG Semeniuk, Christina AD Fisk, Aaron T |
author_sort |
Yurkowski, David J |
title |
Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
title_short |
Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
title_full |
Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
title_fullStr |
Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
title_full_unstemmed |
Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators |
title_sort |
latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of arctic marine predators |
publisher |
Scholarship at UWindsor |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/469 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1980 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/glierpub/article/1471/viewcontent/Ecology_and_Evolution___2016___Yurkowski___Latitudinal_variation_in_ecological_opportunity_and_intraspecific_competition.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal |
genre_facet |
Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal |
op_source |
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/469 doi:10.1002/ece3.1980 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/glierpub/article/1471/viewcontent/Ecology_and_Evolution___2016___Yurkowski___Latitudinal_variation_in_ecological_opportunity_and_intraspecific_competition.pdf |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1980 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1666 |
op_container_end_page |
1678 |
_version_ |
1768381078308913152 |