Depth gradients in food‐web processes linking habitats in large lakes:<scp>L</scp>ake<scp>S</scp>uperior as an exemplar ecosystem

Sierszen, Michael E.; Hrabik, Thomas R.; Stockwell, Jason D.; Cotter, Anne M.; Hoffman, Joel C.; Yule, Daniel L.

doi:10.1111/fwb.12415

Cited by 77 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 92 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The δ 15 N and δ 13 C values of the Lake Taupō food web resembled the previously observed nested “A‐frame” structure, adding to the growing recognition that mobile consumers play an important role in linking multiple food chains in aquatic systems (McMeans et al., ; Sierszen et al., ; Vander Zanden & Vadeboncoeur, ). Lower trophic levels showed strong association with either pelagic or littoral food chains, while higher trophic levels increasingly integrated the two.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Variable littoral‐pelagic coupling as a food‐web response to seasonal changes in pelagic primary production

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lakes are among the most seasonally forced ecosystems on Earth. Seasonal variation in temperature and light produce cyclic patterns in water column mixing, nutrient supply and phytoplankton biomass. Diet responses of consumers to these patterns have rarely been quantified. Moreover, pelagic‐littoral coupling of dietary resources by mobile consumers is commonly considered to be static over annual cycles. This study quantifies littoral‐pelagic diet responses of multiple consumers to a strong shift in pelagic phytoplankton abundance over an annual cycle (September 2014 to August 2015) in a large (area 614 km2), oligotrophic, monomictic lake (Lake Taupō, New Zealand). Intra‐annual patterns in pelagic phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) and zooplankton were determined over multiple years. Major resource and consumer δ13C and δ15N were then collected over an annual cycle. Temporal patterns in food‐web structure were examined using convex hulls as a proxy of community trophic niche size. Diet was quantified using mixing models for zooplankton, meso‐predatory zooplanktivorous common smelt (Retropinna retropinna) and benthivorous common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), as well as the top‐predator rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Trophic structure patterns for smelt, bullies and trout were then independently examined using compound‐specific amino acid δ15N analyses (CSIA‐AA). Lake Taupō demonstrated similar food‐web patterns to other lakes globally. Phytoplankton and zooplankton demonstrated strong seasonal oscillations of abundance driven by both bottom‐up (nutrient supply) and top‐down (stable limit cycle) drivers. The food web demonstrated the typical nested structure. It responded to seasonally low and high pelagic resource availability periods by expansion and contraction, respectively, of trophic niche space. In response to lower pelagic phytoplankton abundance during summer stratification, and phytoplankton accumulation at a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), zooplankton abundance reduced and their diet became dominated by phytoplankton from below the thermocline (i.e. the hypolimnion and DCM). This change may have been prompted by the combined drivers of avoidance of predation and depauperate food supply in surface waters. The diet of smelt and bullies switched from predominantly zooplankton to benthic macroinvertebrates, synchronous with the decline in pelagic zooplankton. Trout diet, inferred from comparison of isotopic signatures of tissues with different turnover rates, also increased littoral resource reliance over the stratified period. Smelt, bully and trout CSIA‐AA data confirmed estimates of trophic position and indicated a greater degree of trophic complexity in the littoral than the pelagic food chain. Food webs in large, deep lakes such as Taupō are expected to be primarily pelagic. This study demonstrates the need to re‐examine this expectation due to seasonal variations in productivity. The relatively small littoral areas in large lakes, combined with meso‐predators’ highly seasonally variable...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Variable littoral‐pelagic coupling as a food‐web response to seasonal changes in pelagic primary production

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…, Pothoven and Madenjian , Sierszen et al. ) and appear to be higher in energy density than some of the more nearshore prey items consumed following dreissenid establishment (McNickle et al. , Rennie et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broad shifts in the resource use of a commercially harvested fish following the invasion of dreissenid mussels

Fera

Rennie

Dunlop

2017

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dreissenid mussels, including the zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (Dreissena rostiformus bugensis) mussel, are invasive species known for their capacity to act as ecosystem engineers. They have caused significant changes in the many freshwater systems they have invaded by increasing water clarity, reducing primary productivity, and altering zooplankton and benthic invertebrate assemblages. What is less clear is how their ecosystem engineering effects manifest up the food web to impact higher trophic levels, including fish. Here, we use a biological tracer (stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen) to analyze long-term and broad-scale trends in the resource use of benthivorous lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, where dreissenid mussels have become established in each lake except Lake Superior. We measured stable isotope ratios from archived material (fish scale samples) collected over several decades by multiple agencies and from 14 locations around the Great Lakes. In the majority of locations, the δ C of lake whitefish increased following the establishment of dreissenid mussels. Trends in δ N were less clear, but significant breakpoints in the time series occurred within 5 yr of dreissenid establishment in several locations, followed by declines in δ N. In contrast, isotopic signatures in Lake Superior locations did not show these trends. Our results provide evidence that lake whitefish shifted toward greater reliance on nearshore benthic production, supporting the theory that fundamental energy pathways are changed when dreissenid mussels become established. Importantly, these effects were noted across multiple, large, and complex ecosystems spanning a broad geographic area. Our study underscores the potential for aquatic invasive species to alter key ecosystem services as demonstrated here through their impacts on energy pathways supporting a commercially harvested fish species.

show abstract

“…Recent evidence suggests that reciprocal transfers of energy between pelagic and benthic habitats through the movement of fish and invertebrate taxa are important for supporting whole‐lake food webs and ecosystem function in even the world's largest lakes (Sierszen et al . ; Stockwell et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitudinal and photic effects on diel foraging and predation risk in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Hansen

Beauchamp

2014

Journal of Animal Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Clark & Levy (American Naturalist, 131, 1988, 271-290) described an antipredation window for smaller planktivorous fish during crepuscular periods when light permits feeding on zooplankton, but limits visual detection by piscivores. Yet, how the window is influenced by the interaction between light regime, turbidity and cloud cover over a broad latitudinal gradient remains unexplored. 2. We evaluated how latitudinal and seasonal shifts in diel light regimes alter the foragingrisk environment for visually feeding planktivores and piscivores across a natural range of turbidities and cloud covers. Pairing a model of aquatic visual feeding with a model of sun and moon illuminance, we estimated foraging rates of an idealized planktivore and piscivore over depth and time across factorial combinations of latitude (0-70°), turbidity (0Á1-5 NTU) and cloud cover (clear to overcast skies) during the summer solstice and autumnal equinox. We evaluated the foraging-risk environment based on changes in the magnitude, duration and peak timing of the antipredation window. 3. The model scenarios generated up to 10-fold shifts in magnitude, 24-fold shifts in duration and 5Á5-h shifts in timing of the peak antipredation window. The size of the window increased with latitude. This pattern was strongest during the solstice. In clear water at low turbidity (0Á1-0Á5 NTU), peaks in the magnitude and duration of the window formed at 57-60°lati-tude, before falling to near zero as surface waters became saturated with light under a midnight sun and clear skies at latitudes near 70°. Overcast dampened the midnight sun enough to allow larger windows to form in clear water at high latitudes. Conversely, at turbidities ≥2 NTU, greater reductions in the visual range of piscivores than planktivores created a window for long periods at high latitudes. Latitudinal dependencies were essentially lost during the equinox, indicating a progressive compression of the window from early summer into autumn. 4. Model results show that diel-seasonal foraging and predation risk in freshwater pelagic ecosystems changes considerably with latitude, turbidity and cloud cover. These changes alter the structure of pelagic predator-prey interactions, and in turn, the broader role of pelagic consumers in habitat coupling in lakes.

show abstract

Depth gradients in food‐web processes linking habitats in large lakes:LakeSuperior as an exemplar ecosystem

Cited by 77 publications

References 92 publications

Variable littoral‐pelagic coupling as a food‐web response to seasonal changes in pelagic primary production

Variable littoral‐pelagic coupling as a food‐web response to seasonal changes in pelagic primary production

Broad shifts in the resource use of a commercially harvested fish following the invasion of dreissenid mussels

Latitudinal and photic effects on diel foraging and predation risk in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About