Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes
Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production pattern...
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2023
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Online Access: | https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/239 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/ibiopub/article/1238/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1470160X23000808_main.pdf |
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:ibiopub-1238 2024-06-23T07:49:01+00:00 Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes Amiraux, Rémi Mundy, C. J. Pierrejean, Marie Niemi, Andrea Hedges, Kevin J. Brown, Thomas A. Ehn, Jens K. Elliott, Kyle H. Ferguson, Steven H. Fisk, Aaron T. Gilchrist, Grant Harris, Les N. Iken, Katrin Jacobs, Kevin B. Johnson, Kelsey F. Kuzyk, Z. A. Limoges, Audrey Loewen, Tracey N. Love, Oliver P. Matthews, Cory J.D. 2023-03-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/239 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/ibiopub/article/1238/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1470160X23000808_main.pdf unknown Scholarship at UWindsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/239 doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/ibiopub/article/1238/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1470160X23000808_main.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Integrative Biology Publications Carbon flux Fishes HBIs Hudson Bay Invertebrates Marine mammals Southampton Island Stable isotopes Subarctic Trophic interactions Integrative Biology text 2023 ftunivwindsor https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 2024-06-04T14:21:51Z Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem. Text Arctic marine mammals Arctic Hudson Bay ice algae Ocean acidification Phytoplankton Sea ice Southampton Island Subarctic University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic Hudson Bay Canada Hudson Southampton Island ENVELOPE(-84.501,-84.501,64.463,64.463) Ecological Indicators 147 109938 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Carbon flux Fishes HBIs Hudson Bay Invertebrates Marine mammals Southampton Island Stable isotopes Subarctic Trophic interactions Integrative Biology |
spellingShingle |
Carbon flux Fishes HBIs Hudson Bay Invertebrates Marine mammals Southampton Island Stable isotopes Subarctic Trophic interactions Integrative Biology Amiraux, Rémi Mundy, C. J. Pierrejean, Marie Niemi, Andrea Hedges, Kevin J. Brown, Thomas A. Ehn, Jens K. Elliott, Kyle H. Ferguson, Steven H. Fisk, Aaron T. Gilchrist, Grant Harris, Les N. Iken, Katrin Jacobs, Kevin B. Johnson, Kelsey F. Kuzyk, Z. A. Limoges, Audrey Loewen, Tracey N. Love, Oliver P. Matthews, Cory J.D. Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
topic_facet |
Carbon flux Fishes HBIs Hudson Bay Invertebrates Marine mammals Southampton Island Stable isotopes Subarctic Trophic interactions Integrative Biology |
description |
Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem. |
format |
Text |
author |
Amiraux, Rémi Mundy, C. J. Pierrejean, Marie Niemi, Andrea Hedges, Kevin J. Brown, Thomas A. Ehn, Jens K. Elliott, Kyle H. Ferguson, Steven H. Fisk, Aaron T. Gilchrist, Grant Harris, Les N. Iken, Katrin Jacobs, Kevin B. Johnson, Kelsey F. Kuzyk, Z. A. Limoges, Audrey Loewen, Tracey N. Love, Oliver P. Matthews, Cory J.D. |
author_facet |
Amiraux, Rémi Mundy, C. J. Pierrejean, Marie Niemi, Andrea Hedges, Kevin J. Brown, Thomas A. Ehn, Jens K. Elliott, Kyle H. Ferguson, Steven H. Fisk, Aaron T. Gilchrist, Grant Harris, Les N. Iken, Katrin Jacobs, Kevin B. Johnson, Kelsey F. Kuzyk, Z. A. Limoges, Audrey Loewen, Tracey N. Love, Oliver P. Matthews, Cory J.D. |
author_sort |
Amiraux, Rémi |
title |
Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
title_short |
Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
title_full |
Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
title_fullStr |
Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
title_sort |
tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
publisher |
Scholarship at UWindsor |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/239 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/ibiopub/article/1238/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1470160X23000808_main.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-84.501,-84.501,64.463,64.463) |
geographic |
Arctic Hudson Bay Canada Hudson Southampton Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Hudson Bay Canada Hudson Southampton Island |
genre |
Arctic marine mammals Arctic Hudson Bay ice algae Ocean acidification Phytoplankton Sea ice Southampton Island Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic marine mammals Arctic Hudson Bay ice algae Ocean acidification Phytoplankton Sea ice Southampton Island Subarctic |
op_source |
Integrative Biology Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/239 doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/ibiopub/article/1238/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1470160X23000808_main.pdf |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109938 |
container_title |
Ecological Indicators |
container_volume |
147 |
container_start_page |
109938 |
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1802639294733484032 |