Novel feeding interactions amplify the impact of species redistribution on an Arctic food web

Pécuchet, Laurène; Blanchet, Marie‐Anne; Frainer, André; Husson, Bérengère; Jørgensen, Lis Lindal; Kortsch, Susanne; Primicerio, Raul

doi:10.1111/gcb.15196

Cited by 77 publications

(73 citation statements)

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“…The primary role of foraging traits in fuelling the increase in Arctic functional variance strongly suggests the importance of ecological interactions in the assembly process determining which incoming boreal species may successfully establish. The incoming boreal traits can further change ecosystem functions and food web configurations in the Arctic [28]. The fish species moving rapidly northward in the Barents Sea are mostly motile, large, piscivorous generalists.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic

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As temperatures rise, motile species start to redistribute to more suitable areas, potentially affecting the persistence of several resident species and altering biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In the Barents Sea, a hotspot for global warming, marine fish from boreal regions have been increasingly found in the more exclusive Arctic region. Here, we show that this shift in species distribution is increasing species richness and evenness, and even more so, the functional diversity of the Arctic. Higher diversity is often interpreted as being positive for ecosystem health and is a target for conservation. However, the increasing trend observed here may be transitory as the traits involved threaten Arctic species via predation and competition. If the pressure from global warming continues to rise, the ensuing loss of Arctic species will result in a reduction in functional diversity.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The incoming boreal traits can further change ecosystem functions and food web configurations in the Arctic [ 28 ]. The fish species moving rapidly northward in the Barents Sea are mostly motile, large, piscivorous generalists.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic

et al. 2021

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“…Temporal turnover in species composition and biomass structure can affect food webs via losses and gains of trophic interactions (i.e. links), or by influencing the magnitude of existing interactions without necessarily triggering their complete removal or addition (Bartley et al, 2019;Pecuchet, Blanchet, et al, 2020). There is a growing interest in understanding the underlying processes and mechanisms that govern temporal variability of ecological networks in order to better understand and anticipate how ecological networks vary through time and respond to future environmental scenarios (CaraDonna et al, 2020;Griffith et al, 2019;McMeans et al, 2015;Poisot et al, 2015;Trøjelsgaard & Olesen, 2016;Ushio et al, 2018;Yletyinen et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most temporal food web studies are limited to binary descriptions (based on presence/absence of species), relatively small networks (such as the Skipwith pond food web, Warren, 1989; the Elm flux or the Arctic tundra food webs, Schoenly & Cohen, 1991) or consider only few time steps, such as before and after scenarios (Jonsson et al, 2005;Kaartinen & Roslin, 2012;Kortsch et al, 2015;Pecuchet, Blanchet, et al, 2020;Yletyinen et al, 2016). Therefore, our current empirical understanding of how highly resolved food webs vary through time comes predominantly from a binary (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling temporal food web dynamics facilitates understanding of ecosystem functioning

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et al. 2021

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Zooplankton are a vital link between primary production and higher tropic levels, and information on their lifestyle and feeding behavior is crucial to understand the functioning of marine ecosystems under present conditions and future change (Falk-Petersen et al, 2007;Atkinson et al, 2012;Pecuchet et al, 2020). The lower trophic levels of the Barents Sea food-web are dominated by Calanus copepods (Aarflot et al, 2018), with C. glacialis being dominant in Arctic shelf waters and the boreal C. finmarchicus in the warmer Atlantic sector.…”

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confidence: 99%

Winter Carnivory and Diapause Counteract the Reliance on Ice Algae by Barents Sea Zooplankton

et al. 2021

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The Barents Sea is a hotspot for environmental change due to its rapid warming, and information on dietary preferences of zooplankton is crucial to better understand the impacts of these changes on food-web dynamics. We combined lipid-based trophic marker approaches, namely analysis of fatty acids (FAs), highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs) and sterols, to compare late summer (August) and early winter (November/December) feeding of key Barents Sea zooplankters; the copepods Calanus glacialis, C. hyperboreus and C. finmarchicus and the amphipods Themisto libellula and T. abyssorum. Based on FAs, copepods showed a stronger reliance on a diatom-based diet. Phytosterols, produced mainly by diatoms, declined from summer to winter in C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus, indicating the strong direct linkage of their feeding to primary production. By contrast, C. finmarchicus showed evidence of year-round feeding, indicated by the higher winter carnivory FA ratios of 18:1(n-9)/18:1(n-7) than its larger congeners. This, plus differences in seasonal lipid dynamics, suggests varied overwintering strategies among the copepods; namely diapause in C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus and continued feeding activity in C. finmarchicus. Based on the absence of sea ice algae-associated HBIs (IP25 and IPSO25) in the three copepod species during both seasons, their carbon sources were likely primarily of pelagic origin. In both amphipods, increased FA carnivory ratios during winter indicated that they relied strongly on heterotrophic prey during the polar night. Both amphipod species contained sea ice algae-derived HBIs, present in broadly similar concentrations between species and seasons. Our results indicate that sea ice-derived carbon forms a supplementary food rather than a crucial dietary component for these two amphipod species in summer and winter, with carnivory potentially providing them with a degree of resilience to the rapid decline in Barents Sea (winter) sea-ice extent and thickness. The weak trophic link of both zooplankton taxa to sea ice-derived carbon in our study likely reflects the low abundance and quality of ice-associated carbon during late summer and the inaccessibility of algae trapped inside the ice during winter.

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Novel feeding interactions amplify the impact of species redistribution on an Arctic food web

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 77 publications

References 76 publications

Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic

Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic

Disentangling temporal food web dynamics facilitates understanding of ecosystem functioning

Winter Carnivory and Diapause Counteract the Reliance on Ice Algae by Barents Sea Zooplankton

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