Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rongliang Zhang, Hua Zhang, Hui Liu, Jianmin Zhao
Summary: Artificial reefs can support trophic structure and pathways similar to those of natural reefs, although there may be spatial differences in pathway magnitudes. The study shows that the development of artificial reef systems over the years enables them to be comparable to natural reef systems. Future research should focus on comparing specific trophic compartments and combining trophic ecology with community structure to better understand the development of artificial reef systems.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Siria Gamez, Abigail Potts, Kirby L. Mills, Aurelia A. Allen, Allyson Holman, Peggy M. Randon, Olivia Linson, Nyeema C. Harris
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis on 40 predatory species in 39 cities globally to investigate the effects of urbanization on predator trophic ecology. The results showed that predators in cities had comparable dietary richness, evenness, and nitrogen ratios, but higher carbon isotopic ratios compared to non-urban areas. The study also found that the human footprint index could not explain the variation in effect sizes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Vinicius T. Pompermaier, Anton M. Potapov, Gabriela B. Nardoto
Summary: Ecosystems worldwide are experiencing increasing rates of nutrient deposition, leading to long-term consequences for plant and microbial diversity and community structure. Research shows that increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition simplifies the trophic structure of Collembola communities, potentially impacting the efficiency and pathways of energy channeling in soil food webs.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tae Hee Park, Chung Il Lee, Tae-Hoon Kim, Dongyoung Kim, Hyun Je Park
Summary: In order to evaluate the impact of rainfall on the basal resources supporting food webs, we compared stable isotope ratios (813C and 815N) of fish consumers and organic matter sources between up- and down-sites in an estuary across different seasons and years. Our study found seasonal differences in the isotopic values of basal resources and fish consumers in both years. Changes in rainfall period resulted in significant differences in the isotopic values of fish consumers at the up-site, indicating a shift in food availability. However, the isotopic values of fishes remained consistent at the down-site, suggesting a negligible impact of rainfall on fish resources.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dhanya Mohan Lal, Giri Bhavan Sreekanth, Chitra Soman, Anupam Sharma, Zeba Jaffer Abidi
Summary: The food and feeding relationships in the Ulhas River Estuary (URE) were analyzed using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures. The results showed that there were both a phytoplankton-based pelagic food chain and a detritus-based benthic food chain in URE. The ecosystem in URE exhibited a broader food web structure and higher trophic diversity, indicating the influence of anthropogenic activities on nitrogen pollution and trophic disturbance.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Danae Guiserix, Emmanuelle Albalat, Henriette Ueckermann, Priyanka Davechand, Linda M. Iaccheri, Grant Bybee, Shaw Badenhorst, Vincent Balter
Summary: Radiogenic strontium isotopes (Sr-87/Sr-86) are a useful tool for investigating migration and landscape use. The study shows that the Sr-88/Sr-86 ratio may reveal unknown dietary and physiological information. Furthermore, the delta Sr-88 values in tooth enamel can differentiate between plants and herbivores, but the distinction between herbivores and carnivores requires further research.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hubert du Pontavice, Didier Gascuel, Gabriel Reygondeau, Charles Stock, William W. L. Cheung
Summary: Our study examines the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems, projecting a decrease in total consumer biomass and a reduction in predator abundance due to faster and less efficient biomass transfers and declining primary production. These changes are expected to have direct repercussions on the future of world fisheries and other services provided by the ocean.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yongfu Shen, Mboglen David, Yi Gong, Feng Wu, Yunkai Li
Summary: Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool in studying the diets of pelagic predators. The use of ethanol as a preservative for biopsy samples is still debated, as it may affect the trophic interpretation of stable isotope values. Lipid extraction is also commonly used, and this study examines the effects of ethanol and combined ethanol and lipid extraction treatments on stable isotope values in pelagic predators.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Svenja Meyer, Dominika Kundel, Klaus Birkhofer, Andreas Fliessbach, Stefan Scheu
Summary: This study predicts that higher frequencies of summer droughts will change soil conditions in the future, thus affecting soil fauna communities and their interactions. The effects of drought on soil biota in agroecosystems can be influenced by different management practices that alter the availability of food resources. The study focuses on the effect of drought on soil microarthropods and their trophic niches, using stable isotope analysis. The results suggest that plant litter, root exudates, and older plant material are important resources for certain species of Collembola and Oribatida. Drought and farming systems did not affect the abundance of species, but some species showed increased isotope values in organically managed fields, indicating a higher proportion of microorganisms in their diet. Overall, the study suggests that the flexible usage of resources can buffer the effects of drought and management practices on microarthropods in agricultural systems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Victoria A. A. Kemp, Jonathan Grey, David Hemprich-Bennett, Stephen J. J. Rossiter, Owen T. T. Lewis, Clare L. L. Wilkinson, Elizabeth L. L. Clare, Pavel Kratina
Summary: The accelerating loss and degradation of tropical forests necessitates a better understanding of the conservation value of remaining forests. By analyzing the trophic ecology of insectivorous bats in the tropical forests of Sabah, Borneo, this study demonstrates that changes in trophic complexity can be a more reliable indicator of habitat degradation than traditional community descriptors.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rui Albuquerque, Antonio Bode, Juan Ignacio Gonzalez-Gordillo, Carlos M. Duarte, Henrique Queiroga
Summary: Marine neuston, a group of zooplankton that live near the ocean surface, is one of the least studied zooplankton groups. This study characterized the neustonic communities across different oceanic provinces and found that the differences in stable isotopes are related to environmental characteristics. The trophic structure of neuston communities is generally consistent across different regions, but the size and overlap of trophic niches may vary depending on food availability.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
D. D. G. Lagendijk, D. Cueva-Arias, A. R. Van Oosten, M. P. Berg
Summary: The interplay between organisms and their abiotic environment can have significant effects on ecological networks. This study focused on the effects of three physical ecosystem engineers on Collembola community composition and life-form strategy in a European salt marsh. The results showed that these engineers modified the physical environment of soil fauna, which in turn altered the relative abundance of Collembola life-forms and the community composition within the soil.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Wang, Hang Zhang, Haolin Zhong, Zhidong Xue
Summary: Protein domains are crucial units for protein classification, function understanding, and design, with various prediction methods and databases available in the past two decades. These methods are categorized into sequence-based and structure-based approaches, each with its own advantages and limitations. Popular online protein domain databases are overviewed, with discussions on potential improvements of prediction methods.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anton M. Potapov, Melanie M. Pollierer, Sandrine Salmon, Vladimir Sustr, Ting-Wen Chen
Summary: The study explores the correlation and complementarity of trophic niche parameters tackled by four complementary methodological approaches, highlighting the importance of the power of method combination in complex natural food webs such as soil ecosystems where omnivore species with cryptic feeding habits coexist.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Donghoon Shin, Tae Hee Park, Chung-Il Lee, Kangseok Hwang, Doo Nam Kim, Seung-Jong Lee, Sukyung Kang, Hyun Je Park
Summary: The aim of this study was to assess seasonal variation in the food-web structure of fish assemblages in the East and South Seas of Korea, and to compare the isotopic niche areas between the regions. The results showed spatial differences in the diversity and dominant species of fish assemblages between the two seas, with the South Sea having relatively wider ranges of delta C-13 and delta N-15 values. Isotopic niche indices were also higher in the South Sea compared to the East Sea.