Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Samantha M. Binion-Rock, Robert R. Christian, Jeffrey A. Buckel
Summary: Fisheries at lower trophic levels compete with predators for limited prey resources in aquatic ecosystems. We developed an Ecopath model for Pamlico Sound and its tributaries to address the tradeoff between fisheries and piscivores. By analyzing fish prey demand and predator consumption, we identified key forage fish and top piscivorous predators. The study highlights the need to consider the impact of predator demand on the ecosystem when managing fisheries in Pamlico Sound.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Dongyan Han, Siquan Tian, Yuying Zhang, Yong Chen
Summary: The Gulf of Maine ecosystem has undergone significant changes in the last few decades, with an increase in the American lobster population and a decrease in some groundfish populations. The study shows that the food web structure has become more complex, stable, and flexible, indicating that the ecosystem is moving towards a more mature stage. Fishing activities are considered to be the main driver of the variations in dynamics of most species in the ecosystem.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dylan Sinnickson, David Chagaris, Micheal Allen
Summary: This study examined the impact of freshwater discharge from the Suwannee River on forage fish and sportfish communities downstream, with drought conditions having a greater effect on ecological production. The presence of snook (Centropomus undecimalis) played a strong top-down control role in the ecosystem, impacting the sensitivity of other functional groups such as spotted seatrout and sand seatrout from the family Sciaenidae.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Thomas P. Guilderson, Daniel P. Schrag, Ellen R. M. Druffel, Ron W. Reimer
Summary: The study of a high-resolution coral Delta C-14 record from the leeward side of the Big Island of Hawai'i provides insights into the pre- and post-bomb era changes. Seasonal cycles, La Nina years, and Sverdrup dynamics are all reflected in the record, indicating climate variability in the subtropical North Pacific.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
D. Szalaj, M. A. Torres, T. Veiga-Malta, M. M. Angelico, L. Sobrinho-Goncalves, C. Chaves, B. Alcoforado, S. Garrido, P. Re, H. Cabral, A. Silva
Summary: This study utilized the Ecopath food web model to describe the Portuguese continental shelf ecosystem and investigated the decline of the Portuguese sardine stock through available time series. The results highlighted trophic interactions, fishing, and environmental forcing as the main factors driving ecosystem dynamics and sardine decline.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joo-Eun Yoon, Ju-Hyoung Kim, Il-Nam Kim
Summary: This study investigates the impact of the North Pacific gyre oscillation (NPGO) mode on the relationship between primary production (PP) and export production (EP) in the eastern North Pacific subtropical gyre (NPSG). The results show that positive NPGO phases are associated with high PP and EP, while negative NPGO phases exhibit low EP despite high PP conditions.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ekin Akoglu
Summary: The Black Sea is one of the most disturbed marine ecosystems due to human activities such as introduced species, overexploitation of fisheries, pollution, and climate change. This study used a dynamic food web model to analyze the multidecadal changes in the Black Sea ecosystem. The results revealed four regime shifts and highlighted the importance of basin-wide management efforts to prevent further ecosystem fluctuations in the future.
Article
Ecology
Sabine Horn, Marta Coll, Harald Asmus, Tobias Dolch
Summary: In contrast to the global trend, seagrass beds have recovered in the northern part of the European Wadden Sea, with potential ecosystem effects and impacts to ecosystem services largely unknown. A food web modeling study in this region found that an increase in seagrass biomass led to an increase in biomass of seagrass consumers and related species. Additionally, the recovery of seagrass also predicted an increase in tourism appeal of the area.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Daniel Vilas, Marta Coll, Xavier Corrales, Jeroen Steenbeek, Chiara Piroddi, Diego Macias, Alessandro Ligas, Paolo Sartor, Joachim Claudet
Summary: The study used a food-web model to investigate unsustainable fishing in areas like the Mediterranean, revealing inadequate protection for target demersal species under current management practices. By exploring climate scenarios under management options, possible avenues for the recovery of targeted species were identified.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Qinqin Lin, Yong Chen, Jiangfeng Zhu
Summary: In this study, a semi-quantitative PSA approach was used to assess the vulnerability of 24 species caught by the Chinese tuna longline fishery in the EPO, with 5 species identified as highly vulnerable and the rest as moderately vulnerable. The PSA results showed good concurrence with all longline fisheries in the EPO, but differed significantly from EASI, highlighting the need for more reliable data for quantitative assessments.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Jennifer Rehren, Marta Coll, Narriman Jiddawi, Lotta Clara Kluger, Omar Omar, Villy Christensen, Maria Grazia Pennino, Matthias Wolff
Summary: Ecosystem models like Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) are important tools for ecosystem-based management strategies. However, lack of data and time series for calibration makes it difficult to use these models, especially for small-scale fisheries like Chwaka Bay, where dragnet fishing is a concern for sustainable development. The study explores different approaches for estimating vulnerabilities and simulates the effects of a dragnet prohibition. The results suggest that banning dragnets would benefit the fishing community in terms of increased biomass and profits, but only if dragnet fishers do not reallocate to other gears.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Dylan Sinnickson, Holden E. Harris, David Chagaris
Summary: The new mathematical technique of Empirical Dynamic Modeling (EDM) has shown promise in identifying trophic interactions in food webs by examining time lags between associated time series. This study analyzed trophic linkages in a subtropical estuary and a simulated ecosystem to understand how energy flows through these systems and evaluated the technique's ability to detect biological relationships in different ecosystems. The results demonstrated that strong consumer-resource interactions can be clearly identified, particularly those driven by bottom-up processes. The detection of trophic connections is influenced by observation error in the data and lower trophic levels are more easily detected than higher levels. The study highlights the potential of EDM in detecting energetic pathways in ecosystems of varying complexity.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ruping Ge, Yixuan Li, Hongju Chen, Facan Lei, Yunyun Zhuang, Guangxing Liu
Summary: Understanding the diel vertical migration patterns of zooplankton is important for biological pumping and pelagic food webs. However, limited knowledge exists about the DVM patterns of zooplankton with different functional traits. This study used a trait-based approach to investigate the vertical distributions of zooplankton in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and found that different functional groups exhibited distinct DVM patterns.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Mark J. M. Lomeli, W. Waldo Wakefield, Meagan Abele, Claude L. Dykstra, Bent Herrmann, Ian J. Stewart, Gregory C. Christie
Summary: This study evaluated the catch efficiency of Pacific halibut and yelloweye rockfish using size 16/0 and 18/0 circle hooks. The study also tested the effects of modified hooks with a stainless-steel wire appendage at different angles. Results showed that hook size did not significantly affect catch efficiency, but hooks with a 45 degrees appendage angle caught less yelloweye rockfish. Time of capture did not differ significantly for both species. The study suggests that hook appendages could be used to reduce catch rates of yelloweye rockfish in Pacific halibut longline fisheries.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adam J. Schlenger, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Richard F. Ambrose
Summary: Ocean acidification poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems, affecting different taxa in diverse ways and resulting in changes to ecosystem structure and stability. Research suggests that biodiversity and average trophic level decrease over time under acidification, while biomass of certain lower trophic level groups may increase.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anne Lorrain, Heidi Pethybridge, Nicolas Cassar, Aurore Receveur, Valerie Allain, Nathalie Bodin, Laurent Bopp, C. Anela Choy, Leanne Duffy, Brian Fry, Nicolas Goni, Brittany S. Graham, Alistair J. Hobday, John M. Logan, Frederic Menard, Christophe E. Menkes, Robert J. Olson, Dan E. Pagendam, David Point, Andrew T. Revill, Christopher J. Somes, Jock W. Young
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Muhammed A. Oyinlola, Gabriel Reygondeau, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, William W. L. Cheung
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Oceanography
J. M. Logan, H. Pethybridge, A. Lorrain, C. J. Somes, V Allain, N. Bodin, C. A. Choy, L. Duffy, N. Goni, B. Graham, C. Langlais, F. Menard, R. Olson, J. Young
DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY
(2020)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeffrey C. Drazen, Craig R. Smith, Kristina M. Gjerde, Steven H. D. Haddock, Glenn S. Carter, C. Anela Choy, Malcolm R. Clark, Pierre Dutrieux, Erica Goetze, Chris Hauton, Mariko Hatta, J. Anthony Koslow, Astrid B. Leitner, Aude Pacini, Jessica N. Perelman, Thomas Peacock, Tracey T. Sutton, Les Watling, Hiroyuki Yamamoto
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Review
Ecology
Tyler D. Eddy, Joey R. Bernhardt, Julia L. Blanchard, William W. L. Cheung, Mathieu Colleter, Hubert du Pontavice, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Didier Gascuel, Kelly A. Kearney, Colleen M. Petrik, Tilla Roy, Ryan R. Rykaczewski, Rebecca Selden, Charles A. Stock, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Reg A. Watson
Summary: Transfer efficiency, the proportion of energy passed between nodes in food webs, is an emergent and unitless property that is challenging to measure. It responds dynamically to environmental and ecosystem changes, with slight variations potentially having large effects on food availability for top predators. Both process-level analysis and observed macro-scale variations suggest that ecosystem-scale transfer efficiency is highly variable and will decline with climate change, emphasizing the importance of fully understanding the processes controlling transfer efficiency.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juliano Palacios-Abrantes, Gabriel Reygondeau, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, William W. L. Cheung
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gabriel Reygondeau, William W. L. Cheung, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Vicky W. Y. Lam, Thomas Frolicher, Olivier Maury
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Nathalie Bodin, Heidi Pethybridge, Leanne M. Duffy, Anne Lorrain, Valerie Allain, John M. Logan, Frederic Menard, Brittany Graham, C. Anela Choy, Christopher J. Somes, Robert J. Olson, Jock W. Young
Article
Ecology
Bonnie M. Hamilton, Chelsea M. Rochman, Timothy J. Hoellein, Bruce H. Robison, Kyle S. Van Houtan, C. Anela Choy
Summary: The study found that microplastic particles are widespread in global marine ecosystems and are being ingested by various marine organisms, but trophic transfer of microplastics in marine food webs has not been widely measured. Anthropogenic particles were found in all genera examined, however, there was no significant relationship between microplastic amount and fish trophic level, indicating that trophic transfer of microparticles is not occurring.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Limnology
Elizabeth D. Hetherington, Alejandro Damian-Serrano, Steven H. D. Haddock, Casey W. Dunn, C. Anela Choy
Summary: Siphonophores are understudied colonial hydrozoans that play an important role in oceanic ecosystems. This study reveals their diverse diet and potential trophic differences between depth habitats, emphasizing the importance of gelatinous zooplankton in shaping the food web structure.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. M. Chavarry, K. L. Law, A. D. Barton, N. M. Bowlin, M. D. Ohman, C. A. Choy
Summary: This study assessed the potential for trophic transfer of microplastics through forage fishes and found that the exposure of Northern Anchovy to microplastics was relatively low compared to their zooplankton prey. However, microplastic exposure varied with habitat, season, and time of day. The study suggests that microplastic exposure is likely to increase for forage fishes in the global ocean due to declines in primary productivity, water column stratification, and microplastic pollution.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alejandro Damian-Serrano, Elizabeth D. Hetherington, C. Anela Choy, Steven H. D. Haddock, Alexandra Lapides, Casey W. Dunn
Summary: This study used DNA metabarcoding to investigate the diets of siphonophores in open-ocean ecosystems, revealing a wide range of prey items including crustaceans, gelatinous animals, and fish. The study also compared visual and molecular methods for prey detection and validated tentacle-based predictions of diet. The findings expand our understanding of the ecological roles of siphonophores and their interactions with filter-feeders at the base of the food web, highlighting the importance of their diversity for nutrient flow and ecosystem functioning.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Elizabeth D. Hetherington, C. Anela Choy, Erik V. Thuesen, Steven H. D. Haddock
Summary: Our understanding of deep-sea communities has evolved with different sampling methods. In the study conducted in Monterey Bay, California, we found that different sampling methods have significant impacts on community composition and biomass. ROV surveys are the most effective in documenting species diversity and fragile species, while MOCNESS trawl samples have significantly lower biomass.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Matthew S. Savoca, Susanne Kuhn, ChengJun Sun, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, C. Anela Choy, Sarah Dudas, Sang Hee Hong, K. David Hyrenbach, Tsung-Hsien Li, Connie Ka-yan Ng, Jennifer F. Provencher, Jennifer M. Lynch
Summary: Marine debris is a widespread issue in the Anthropocene global ocean, with the North Pacific being one of the most polluted regions. Plastic ingestion by marine organisms is prevalent in this region, with approximately half of the fish and seabirds and over three-quarters of sea turtles and bivalve specimens having consumed plastic. A meta-analysis of scientific literature identified 12 key bioindicator species candidates for plastic pollution monitoring in the North Pacific. Standardized data collection methods were also developed to assess temporal trends and the effectiveness of mitigation actions. This monitoring is crucial for evaluating progress towards sustainability and improved ocean health in the 21st century.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tayler M. Clarke, Gabriel Reygondeau, Colette Wabnitz, Ross Robertson, Manuel Ixquiac-Cabrera, Myrna Lopez, Ana Rosa Ramirez Coghi, Jose Luis del Rio Iglesias, Ingo Wehrtmann, William W. L. Cheung
Summary: The study examines the habitat suitability shifts of 505 fish and invertebrate species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific under different emission scenarios. It finds that some fisheries in the region may experience declines in habitat suitability and species migration towards the south, highlighting the importance of considering these shifts in conservation and marine resource management measures.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)