Do body mass and habitat factors predict trophic position in temperate stream fishes?

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-414
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Fraley ◽  
Helen J. Warburton ◽  
Phillip G. Jellyman ◽  
Dave Kelly ◽  
Angus R. McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Stream Fishes ◽  
Habitat Factors ◽  
Temperate Stream

scholarly journals Examining predator–prey body size, trophic level and body mass across marine and terrestrial mammals

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1797) ◽  
pp. 20142103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlee A. Tucker ◽  
Tracey L. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals

Predator–prey relationships and trophic levels are indicators of community structure, and are important for monitoring ecosystem changes. Mammals colonized the marine environment on seven separate occasions, which resulted in differences in species' physiology, morphology and behaviour. It is likely that these changes have had a major effect upon predator–prey relationships and trophic position; however, the effect of environment is yet to be clarified. We compiled a dataset, based on the literature, to explore the relationship between body mass, trophic level and predator–prey ratio across terrestrial ( n = 51) and marine ( n = 56) mammals. We did not find the expected positive relationship between trophic level and body mass, but we did find that marine carnivores sit 1.3 trophic levels higher than terrestrial carnivores. Also, marine mammals are largely carnivorous and have significantly larger predator–prey ratios compared with their terrestrial counterparts. We propose that primary productivity, and its availability, is important for mammalian trophic structure and body size. Also, energy flow and community structure in the marine environment are influenced by differences in energy efficiency and increased food web stability. Enhancing our knowledge of feeding ecology in mammals has the potential to provide insights into the structure and functioning of marine and terrestrial communities.

scholarly journals Fish stable isotope community structure of a Bahamian coral reef

2019 ◽  
Vol 166 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiou Zhu ◽  
Steven P. Newman ◽  
William D. K. Reid ◽  
Nicholas V. C. Polunin
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Mass Range ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Trophic Guilds ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Muscle Tissues ◽  
Prey Mass

Abstract Stable isotopes have provided important insight into the trophic structure and interaction in many ecosystems, but to date have scarcely been applied to the complex food webs of coral reefs. We sampled white muscle tissues from the fish species composing 80% of the biomass in the 4–512 g body mass range at Cape Eleuthera (the Bahamas) in order to examine isotopic niches characterised by δ13C and δ15N data and explore whether fish body size is a driver of trophic position based on δ15N. We found the planktivore isotopic niche was distinct from those of the other trophic guilds suggesting the unique isotopic baseline of pelagic production sources. Other trophic guilds showed some level of overlap among them especially in the δ13C value which is attributable to source omnivory. Surprising features of the isotopic niches included the benthivore Halichoeres pictus, herbivores Acanthurus coeruleus and Coryphopterus personatus and omnivore Thalassoma bifasciatum being close to the planktivore guild, while the piscivore Aulostomus maculatus came within the omnivore and herbivore ellipses. These characterisations contradicted the simple trophic categories normally assigned to these species. δ15N tended to increase with body mass in most species, and at community level, the linear δ15N–log2 body mass relationship pointing to a mean predator–prey mass ratio of 1047:1 and a relatively long food chain compared with studies in other aquatic systems. This first demonstration of a positive δ15N–body mass relationship in a coral reef fish community suggested that the Cape Eleuthera coral reef food web was likely supported by one main pathway and bigger reef fishes tended to feed at higher trophic position. Such finding is similar to other marine ecosystems (e.g. North Sea).

scholarly journals Metabolic theory and taxonomic identity predict nutrient recycling in a diverse food web

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (20) ◽  
pp. E2640-E2647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Edward Allgeier ◽  
Seth J. Wenger ◽  
Amy D. Rosemond ◽  
Daniel E. Schindler ◽  
Craig A. Layman
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Metabolic Theory ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Excretion Rates

Reconciling the degree to which ecological processes are generalizable among taxa and ecosystems, or contingent on the identity of interacting species, remains a critical challenge in ecology. Ecological stoichiometry (EST) and metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) are theoretical approaches used to evaluate how consumers mediate nutrient dynamics and energy flow through ecosystems. Recent theoretical work has explored the utility of these theories, but empirical tests in species-rich ecological communities remain scarce. Here we use an unprecedented dataset collected from fishes and dominant invertebrates (n = 900) in a diverse subtropical coastal marine community (50 families, 72 genera, 102 species; body mass range: 0.04–2,597 g) to test the utility of EST and MTE in predicting excretion rates of nitrogen (EN), phosphorus (EP), and their ratio (ENP). Body mass explained a large amount of the variation in EN and EP but not ENP. Strong evidence in support of the MTE 3/4 allometric scaling coefficient was found for EP, and for EN only after accounting for variation in excretion rates among taxa. In all cases, including taxonomy in models substantially improved model performance, highlighting the importance of species identity for this ecosystem function. Body nutrient content and trophic position explained little of the variation in EN, EP, or ENP, indicating limited applicability of basic predictors of EST. These results highlight the overriding importance of MTE for predicting nutrient flow through organisms, but emphasize that these relationships still fall short of explaining the unique effects certain species can have on ecological processes.

On the relationship between trophic position, body mass and temperature: reformulating the energy limitation hypothesis

Oikos ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 1524-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matías Arim ◽  
Francisco Bozinovic ◽  
Pablo A. Marquet
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Energy Limitation ◽  
The Relationship

Stable Isotope Variability in Tissues of Temperate Stream Fishes

2005 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 1103-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D. Jardine ◽  
Michelle A. Gray ◽  
Sherisse M. McWilliam ◽  
Richard A. Cunjak
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stream Fishes ◽  
Temperate Stream

Comparing trophic position of stream fishes using stable isotope and gut contents analyses

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Rybczynski ◽  
D. M. Walters ◽  
K. M. Fritz ◽  
B. R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Stream Fishes

Diel changes in resource use and diet overlap in temperate stream fishes

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hikaru Nakagawa ◽  
Hideyuki Yamane ◽  
Masaki Yasugi ◽  
Tomohiko Fujita ◽  
Kenichi Yokoi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Diet Overlap ◽  
Stream Fishes ◽  
Diel Changes ◽  
Temperate Stream

scholarly journals Selective effects of temperature on body mass depend on trophic interactions and network position

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avril Weinbach ◽  
Korinna T. Allhoff ◽  
Elisa Thébault ◽  
Francois Massol ◽  
Nicolas Loeuille
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Effects Of Temperature ◽  
Mass Increase ◽  
Selective Effects

AbstractBody mass is a key trait constraining interspecific interactions in food webs through changes in metabolic requirements. Because climate warming affects metabolic rates, it creates direct selective effects on body mass. Many empirical studies suggest that body mass decreases under warming, although important exceptions have been noted. We first analyze the evolution of body mass in a simple consumer-resource model to provide conditions under which a body mass increase or decrease may be expected. We then extend our model to a multi-trophic food web context that allows for the coevolution of body mass and of feeding preferences. We focus here on how the trophic position of a consumer influences its evolutionary response to warming under different scenarios for the temperature dependence of attack rates. We observe that body masses can remain constant or increase with temperature when attack rates are constant or increasing with temperature, while body mass reductions in response to warming are only expected when attack rates have a thermal optimum and populations are initially locally adapted. We also found that body masses at lower trophic levels vary less under warming than body masses at higher trophic levels, which may be explained by decreasing levels of stabilizing selection along food chains.

Gape and energy limitation determine a humped relationship between trophic position and body size

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Manuel Segura ◽  
Valentina Franco-Trecu ◽  
Paula Franco-Fraguas ◽  
Matías Arim
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Metabolic Demand ◽  
Southwestern Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Energy Limitation

We found a segmented pattern, increasing for small sizes and decreasing for larger sizes, in the relationship between trophic position and body size. This pattern provides support for a recently developed theoretical model whose derivation was based on consumers’ metabolic requirements and on basic assumptions about feeding relationships. We combined original and published information about stable nitrogen isotopes, a proxy of trophic position, for a broad range of animal body sizes (10−3–105 kg) inhabiting the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Linear, polynomic, and piecewise segmented models were fit to species trophic position and body mass. The segmented model had the best fit, presenting a positive slope (β1 = 0.33 ± 0.08) for small organisms (<200 kg) and a negative slope (β2 = −1.93 ± 0.16) for larger ones. This suggests that there are morphological restrictions to prey consumption in smaller organisms and energetic constraints to trophic position in larger ones. Furthermore, the predator–prey body mass ratio (BMR = 1.31; 95% CI = 0.9–2.40) estimated here is similar to previous reports of direct observations (BMR = 1.64 and 1.82). However, the trophic position of larger organisms decreases at a faster rate (β2 = −1.93) than expected by metabolic demand (β2expected = −0.16 to −0.82), suggesting that additional processes should be considered. Our results suggest that large species could be more vulnerable to global change than previously thought.

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