Apex predators and trophic cascades in large marine ecosystems: Learning from serendipity

High‐precision 34S/32S measurements in vertebrate bioapatites using purge‐and‐trap elemental analyser/isotope ratio mass spectrometry technology

“…Here again, the difference of trophic position for those species might explain this difference. The Altantic cod, as an apex predator, [28] is higher in the trophic chain than the common dab which essentially preyed on zoobenthic organisms such as hydroids, ophiurids, polychaetes, bivalves, and small crustaceans. [29] Miocene fossils recovered from the same locality and from the same formation are characterised by a large spread of δ 34 S V-CDT values from À22.0‰ to +20.4‰ (Fig.…”

Simulating the Trophic Impacts of Fishery Policy Options on the West Florida Shelf Using Ecopath with Ecosim

“…Ecosystem impacts, whether induced by fishing or environmental change, typically arise through predator-prey interactions. Removing predators can cause an increase in the abundance of their prey and a decline in species two trophic levels below them, a phenomenon known as a trophic cascade (Carpenter et al 1985;Frank et al 2005;Steneck 2012). Harvesting prey, even at sustainable rates, can impact the growth and reproductive success of predators, ultimately causing their populations to decline (Walters and Martell 2004;Walters et al 2005;Smith et al 2011;Pikitch et al 2012).…”

Balloon effects reshaping global fisheries

“…Despite a remarkable capacity for fish stocks to recover, the failure of Alaska Pollock to rebound in the Donut Hole following the moratorium demonstrates another danger of balloon effects: sophisticated fishing technologies have made it possible for such effects to occur so suddenly and extensively as to precipitate trophic cascades that fundamentally alter ecosystems. The collapse of cod fisheries in the northeastern Atlantic in the 1980s provides the most vivid example, where cod has failed to rebound despite a moratorium, leading the fisheries industry to shift its focus to a burgeoning shellfish population, thriving in the absence of its traditional predator [14].…”