Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Irina Zhulay, Katrin Iken, Paul E. Renaud, Ksenia Kosobokova, Bodil A. Bluhm
Summary: Pelagic-benthic coupling refers to the connection between surface-water production and seafloor habitats through the exchange of energy, nutrients, and mass. The strength of this coupling was compared between 2005 and 2016 in the poorly studied Arctic Chukchi Borderland, with 2016 being a low-ice year. The results showed weaker coupling in 2016, with higher isotopic niche overlap and shorter isotopic distance between pelagic and benthic food web components.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Isabel R. Hilgendag, Heidi K. Swanson, Christopher W. Lewis, Ashley D. Ehrman, Michael Power
Summary: This study investigated mercury biomagnification in benthic, pelagic, and benthopelagic marine food webs in the Arctic, with results showing the highest biomagnification values in the benthopelagic food web. The benthic food web exhibited the greatest trophic diversity and isotopic niche area. Further study is needed to understand the impact of food web complexity on mercury biomagnification.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Remi Amiraux, David J. Yurkowski, Philippe Archambault, Marie Pierrejean, C. J. Mundy
Summary: The traditional view that the benthic compartment is simpler in structure compared to the pelagic compartment is challenged in this study, which illustrates the presence of a subweb in the benthic realm with similar complexity to the pelagic counterpart, including megafaunal-predatory sea stars equivalent to iconic polar bears.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benat Iglesias, Maite Louzao, Eneko Bachiller, Lucia Lopez-Lopez, Maria Santos, Guillermo Boyra, Eider Andonegi, Unai Cotano, Izaskun Preciado
Summary: In this study, the predator-prey interactions and trophic structure of the pelagic fish community in the Bay of Biscay were investigated using stomach content analysis and stable isotope analysis. The results showed that trophic guilds were more influenced by intra-specific affinities rather than seasonal variability. Vertically migrating meso- and macrozooplankton played an important role as a food source for the pelagic fish community, and there was high trophic overlap among most species. The trophic structure did not differ between spring and late summer, but the trophic positions were consistently lower in spring.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Auriane G. Jones, Stanislas F. Dubois, Nicolas Desroy, Jerome Fournier
Summary: The study found that the honeycomb-worm S. alveolata promotes benthic-pelagic coupling and 'gardening' through creating physical structures, stimulating basal resources, and diversifying suspension-feeding species. This leads to trophic pathway diversification and limits trophic competition, ultimately promoting the establishment of a temporally stable and highly resilient reef habitat. The results also refine the definition of S. alveolata reefs as a single reef food web coupled by stimulated basal resources and consumers.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sean Hacker Teper, Christopher C. Parrish, Patrick Gagnon
Summary: By studying a rhodolith bed in southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, we found that the species composition and rhodolith morphology of the bed indicated high temporal stability. Our nutritional analysis showed that most species fed on a shared resource, diatoms, and that macroalgal detritus is an important food source within rhodolith communities. Stable isotope analysis revealed the simultaneous operation of bottom-up forcing and benthic-pelagic coupling in subarctic rhodolith beds.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Daniela Cortes-Guzman, Javier Alcocer, Dolors Planas
Summary: This study examines the dominant pathway of the benthic macroinvertebrate food web in two tropical first-order streams in the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico. The research findings indicate that the autotrophic pathway plays an important role in sustaining the food web, especially during the dry season. The results also suggest that seasonality, rainfall patterns, and stream hydrology influence the relative importance of autotrophs in the macroinvertebrate food web.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Oceanography
Jing-Ying Wu, Siou-Yan Lin, Shao-Hung Peng, Jia-Jang Hung, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, Li-Lian Liu
Summary: The study compared the trophic structure and isotopic niche width of consumers in benthic communities around shallow-water hydrothermal vents (SVs) off Kueishan Islet with nearby non-vent rocky reefs (NV), finding that SVs had more diversified nutrient sources and differences in consumer feeding guilds. Additionally, the study revealed that plankton-derived production plays a significant role in providing food to benthic communities, especially in extreme conditions such as those found in SVs off Kueishan Islet.
PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sen Du, Yanyan Zhou, Li Zhang
Summary: In this study, the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of arsenic in Daya Bay were systematically investigated. The results showed that arsenic concentrations in organisms and environmental samples varied by season and demonstrated biomagnification along trophic transfer in the food web. The study suggested that a benthic habit was an important promoter for arsenic biomagnification in marine food webs.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wenzhe Xu, Paul K. S. Shin, Jun Sun
Summary: Anthropogenic nutrient input to coastal waters is a common disturbance that impacts inshore marine benthic communities, leading to changes in the composition of species and food sources.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Skinner, A. C. Mill, M. D. Fox, S. P. Newman, Y. Zhu, A. Kuhl, N. V. C. Polunin
Summary: Coral reef food webs are heavily subsidized by planktonic production, with offshore pelagic sources playing a significant role in sustaining reef predators. This highlights the importance of allochthonous energetic subsidies throughout the reef ecosystem.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Florian Scholz, Jun Cheng, Zhouling Zhang, Paul Vosteen, Christopher Siebert, Martin Frank
Summary: Barium (Ba) isotopes can serve as a tracer for riverine freshwater input to the ocean and marine biogeochemical cycling. This study investigates the processes affecting Ba cycling in Kiel Bight, a fjord in the Baltic Sea. The results show that Ba concentrations and isotope ratios vary with depth and are influenced by mixing of freshwater and seawater, as well as biological processes and sediment-water interactions. These findings have implications for understanding nutrient dynamics and the isotopic balance of Ba in the ocean.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joan Gimenez, Silvia Puigarnau, Eric Moran, Antoni Lombarte, Maria Jose Gomez-Vives, Marta Coll, Joan Navarro
Summary: The study suggests that a reduction in the biomass of key forage fish species in the western Mediterranean Sea could impact the trophic preferences of the little tunny, leading to changes in its diet composition and prey consumption habits. These changes may be influenced by the decrease in the body size and biomass of anchovy and sardine, causing an increase in the consumption of alternative prey by the little tunny.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jian Zhang, Jilei Xu, Xiang Tan, Quanfa Zhang
Summary: This study examined the stream food webs in the Lhasa River on the Tibetan Plateau and found that anthropogenic activities have negative effects on the structure and function of the food webs, reducing trophic length and redundancy. Additionally, reducing nitrogen inputs is crucial for sustainable river management and biodiversity conservation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jana C. Massing, Anna Schukat, Holger Auel, Dominik Auch, Leila Kittu, Elda Luz Pinedo Arteaga, Jonathan Correa Acosta, Wilhelm Hagen
Summary: The northern Humboldt Current upwelling system is one of the most productive marine ecosystems, with fisheries landings five to eight times higher than other coastal upwelling systems. A study was conducted to understand the pelagic food-web structure and trophic interactions in this system. The study found regional shifts in the food web and differences in δN-15 ratios between surface waters and the oxygen minimum zone. Additionally, the role of benthic-pelagic coupling and the importance of certain key species in the zooplankton community were identified.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Miguel Petrere Jr, Davi Butturi-Gomes
Summary: This short communication aims to raise awareness about the misuse of confidence intervals in Ecology and Fisheries statistical models that ignore the lack of independence.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Peter-John F. Hulson, Benjamin C. Williams
Summary: This study evaluates the impact of considering ageing error and growth variability on the determination of input sample size (ISS) in statistical catch-at-age assessment models. The results show that including these sources of uncertainty decreases the ISS determined through bootstrap methods. This indicates that there is more variability in age composition and conditional age-at-length data than previously accounted for. Including these sources of uncertainty improves the estimation of ISS and subsequently improves the quality of stock assessment models.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Jason M. Cope
Summary: Fishery resource assessment is a complex and challenging task, but with the use of different analysis methods and tools, effective management guidance can be provided even with limited data and resources.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Regina L. Cunha, Joana I. Robalo, Sara M. Francisco, Ines Farias, Rita Castilho, Ivone Figueiredo
Summary: Recent advances in genomics have greatly contributed to the assessment of fish stocks by providing precise identification of genetic boundaries. This study used a genotyping-by-sequencing approach to reveal the existence of an additional genetic cluster of blackspot seabream in the northeast Atlantic, which was not previously identified. Factors such as ocean circulation patterns and local upwelling may play a role in the genetic differentiation observed in this study.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Huihua Lee, Mark N. Maunder, Kevin R. Piner
Summary: Estimating growth is important for fish population assessment. Integrated assessment models and the influence of misfitting size composition data have renewed interest in how growth is modeled. The available data types control how the length-at-age relationship is estimated. Estimating length-at-age is complex due to multiple sources of biological variability and difficulties in obtaining representative samples.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
A. Ladino, I. Perez-Arjona, V. Espinosa, M. Chillaron, V. Vidal, L. M. Godinho, G. Moreno, G. Boyra
Summary: This study examines the acoustic properties of skipjack tuna and Atlantic mackerel, both bladderless pelagic fish species, and explains the significant differences observed. The research shows that the differences in material properties of their tissues predict a more than 10 dB greater reduced target strength in skipjack compared to mackerel at certain frequencies.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Nelly Pena-Cutimbo, Cristel Cordero-Maldonado, Clara Ortiz-Alvarez, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Jeffrey C. Mangel
Summary: Bycatch is a global problem for marine megafauna. This study assessed the bycatch interactions of the Peruvian artisanal purse-seine fishery in 2019 and found that all taxa groups were affected by bycatch. Dusky dolphins, guanay cormorants, and eagle rays were the most frequently reported bycatch species.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Jen-Ming Liu, Po-Yuk So
Summary: The set-net fishery is an environmentally friendly fishery posing little risk to the marine ecosystem. This study identified ocean temperature, sea surface factors, and climatic factors as the main factors affecting the installation of set-nets.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Josie L. Palmer, Carina Armstrong, Hasan D. Akbora, Damla Beton, Cigdem Caglar, Brendan J. Godley, Kristian Metcalfe, Meryem Ozkan, Robin T. E. Snape, Annette C. Broderick
Summary: Small-scale fisheries are vital for global food security and cultural heritage, but the lack of information hampers effective management and mitigation of ecological impacts. This study provides the first comprehensive overview of the small-scale fishery fleet in Northern Cyprus. The fleet operates mainly over the continental shelf, using static and demersal gear types, and catches a diverse range of species, some of which are threatened. The findings can be used to improve fisheries management and conservation measures.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)