Food-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes

Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.; McClain‐Counts, Jennifer P.; Ross, Steve W.; Brooke, Sandra; Mienis, Furu

doi:10.3354/meps12231

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is reported here in an angular range between −90 and +90 • , with positive and negative values indicating that δ 13 C and δ 15 N are, respectively, directly or inversely proportional (Demopoulos et al, 2017). θ values close to 0 (ellipse dispersed along the x-axis) indicate utilization of multiple resources while θ values close to (-) 90 (ellipse dispersed along the y-axis) indicate that the individuals within a site feed across different trophic positions within (a) basal carbon source(s) (Reid et al, 2016;Demopoulos et al, 2017). The combination of E and θ can distinguish isotopic niche areas, which have similar sizes, but the relationship between δ 13 C and δ 15 N among locations (in this case depth zones) and/or species is different (Reid et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Theta (θ) is a measure of the inclination of the ellipse and is returned as a value between 0 and π (Jackson et al, 2011). It is reported here in an angular range between −90 and +90 • , with positive and negative values indicating that δ 13 C and δ 15 N are, respectively, directly or inversely proportional (Demopoulos et al, 2017). θ values close to 0 (ellipse dispersed along the x-axis) indicate utilization of multiple resources while θ values close to (-) 90 (ellipse dispersed along the y-axis) indicate that the individuals within a site feed across different trophic positions within (a) basal carbon source(s) (Reid et al, 2016;Demopoulos et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SEA C reflects the twodimensional (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) isotopic niche of a group of individuals. It is insensitive to small sample sizes < 10 - Jackson et al, 2011;Demopoulos et al, 2017) and is a proxy of the trophic niche of that group of individuals (Jackson et al, 2011). SEA B provides a range of ellipse surfaces that can be valid given the input data and it was calculated from 10 4 posterior iterations of SEA B (Jackson et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Resource Niches of Co-occurring Invertebrate Species at an Offshore Wind Turbine Indicate a Substantial Degree of Trophic Plasticity

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Offshore wind farms (OWFs) in the North Sea are proliferating, causing alterations in local ecosystems by adding artificial hard substrates into naturally soft-bottom areas. These substrates are densely colonized by fouling organisms, which may compete for the available resources. While the distribution of some species is restricted to specific parts of the turbine, others occur across depth zones and may therefore face different competitive environments. Here we investigate the trophic niches of seven invertebrate species: three sessile (Diadumene cincta, Metridium senile, and Mytilus edulis), one hemi-sessile (Jassa herdmani) and three mobile species (Ophiothrix fragilis, Necora puber, and Pisidia longicornis) that occur in multiple depth zones. We hypothesized that these species would be trophic generalists, exhibiting trophic plasticity by selecting different resources in different depth zones, to cope with the different competitive environments in which they occur. We analyzed δ 13 C and δ 15 N of these species and their potential resources across depth zones. Our results show that most of these invertebrates are indeed trophic generalists which display substantial trophic plasticity, selecting different resources in different zones. Degree of trophic plasticity was not related to mobility of the species. There are two possible explanations for these dietary changes with depth: either consumers switch diet to avoid competition with other (dominant) species, or they benefit from the consumption of a non-limiting resource. Only Diadumene cincta was a trophic specialist that consumed suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) independent of its zone of occurrence. Altogether, trophic plasticity appears an important mechanism for the coexistence of invertebrate species along the depth gradient of an offshore wind turbine.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Resource Niches of Co-occurring Invertebrate Species at an Offshore Wind Turbine Indicate a Substantial Degree of Trophic Plasticity

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this study, the lack of relationship between depth and carbon isotope values suggests that B. childressi may rely predominantly, if not entirely, on methane-derived carbon for nutrition at both shallow and deep seeps. A dependence on methane-derived nutrition is supported by nitrogen isotope values (−0.6‰−2.2‰) lower than those in animals reliant on photosynthetically-derived food resources (>5‰; Demopoulos et al, 2017), and is consistent with previous morphological observations (i.e., reduced digestive tracts; Gustafson et al, 1998) and carbon isotope values within the Gulf of Mexico, which ranged from −40 to −70‰ (Childress et al, 1986;Brooks et al, 1987;Dattagupta et al, 2004). A dependence on chemosynthetically-derived nutrition has also been documented for mussels sampled at Baltimore (400 m) and Norfolk (1,500 m) seeps by Demopoulos et al (2019).…”

Section: Nutrition Of Bathymodiolus Childressimentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane Seeps on the US Atlantic Margin and Their Potential Importance to Populations of the Commercially Valuable Deep-Sea Red Crab, Chaceon quinquedens

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…9). Therefore, the enrichment often observed between consumers and suspended organic matter in studies of deep-sea trophic dynamics (Leduc et al 2015;Demopoulos et al 2017) has unclear implications for the interpretation of food web relationships. To help address this limitation, Post (2002) suggested using bivalves (primary consumers of pelagic primary production) to determine the δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopic baseline against which to compare other consumers.…”

Section: Stable Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure of infaunal communities in New Zealand submarine canyons is linked to origins of sediment organic matter

Leduc

Nodder

Rowden

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Submarine canyons can facilitate the transfer of land-derived organic matter to the deep sea. Here, we investigated links between variability in organic matter availability from land and marine sources and infauna communities in two contrasting canyon systems off New Zealand and used stable isotope analyses to identify potential food sources of benthic invertebrates. Kaik oura Canyon, a steep, short canyon close to the shore, was characterized by high food availability and varying proportions of marine-and land-derived organic matter, whereas Hokitika Canyon, a narrow and lower-gradient canyon that extends further from the coast, was characterized by low food availability and mostly land-derived sediment organic matter throughout. Both macrofaunal and meiofaunal abundance and biomass were greater in Kaik oura Canyon than in Hokitika Canyon. Correlation analyses suggested that land-derived organic matter may contribute to increased meiofaunal abundance in Kaik oura Canyon. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses, however, did not provide unequivocal support for the uptake of land-derived material by large benthic invertebrates in Kaik oura Canyon. Infaunal abundance and biomass were low throughout Hokitika Canyon despite similar concentrations of land-derived organic matter in sediments of both canyons, which suggests that variations in marine-derived organic matter inputs is the main driver of community differences among canyons. Refractory vascular plant material by itself may not provide an adequate food supply to infaunal organisms, but may represent a complementary food resource when more labile marine phytodetritus is also readily available.

show abstract

Food-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes

Cited by 29 publications

References 79 publications

Resource Niches of Co-occurring Invertebrate Species at an Offshore Wind Turbine Indicate a Substantial Degree of Trophic Plasticity

Resource Niches of Co-occurring Invertebrate Species at an Offshore Wind Turbine Indicate a Substantial Degree of Trophic Plasticity

Methane Seeps on the US Atlantic Margin and Their Potential Importance to Populations of the Commercially Valuable Deep-Sea Red Crab, Chaceon quinquedens

Structure of infaunal communities in New Zealand submarine canyons is linked to origins of sediment organic matter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About