Trophic ecology of the stomiid (Pisces: Stomiidae) fish assemblage of the eastern Gulf of Mexico: Strategies, selectivity and impact of a top mesopelagic predator group

Sutton, Tracey; Hopkins, Thomas L.

doi:10.1007/bf00942102

Cited by 110 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…The most extensive studies of mesopelagic fishes trophodynamics in the GOM was conducted over several years in the eastern GOM near our WFS study site. Data from that effort (Hopkins and Baird, 1981;Hopkins and Baird, 1985;Hopkins and others, 1996;Sutton and Hopkins, 1996) as well as other studies on mesopelagic feeding (Merrett and Roe, 1974;Champalbert and others, 2008) agree closely with the diet data presented here. Although deeper waters of the central GOM were sampled, our data agree closely with results of McClain-Counts (2010), who also reported copepods to be the dominant prey item for most mesopelagic fishes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico

Demopoulos¹,

Ross²,

Kellogg³

et al. 2017

Open-File Report

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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov.To order this and other USGS information products, visit https://store.usgs.gov. This study was conducted by the Ecosystems Mission Area of USGS to meet information needs identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. All animal collection and handling was in accordance with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) guidelines.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Demopoulos, A.W.J., Ross, S.W., Kellogg, C.A., Morrison, C.L., Nizinski, M., Prouty, N.G., Bourque, J.R., Galkiewicz, J.P., Gray, M.A., Springmann, M.J., Coykendall, D.K., Miller, A., Rhode, M., Quattrini, A., Ames, C.L., Brooke, S., McClain-Counts, J., Roark, E.B., Buster, N.A., Phillips, R.M., and Frometa, J., 2017, Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017-1139, 269 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171139. ISSN 2331-1258iii PrefaceThis report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Background and details regarding the overall project and scope are presented in the Introductory chapter. The chapters are authored by several scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Florida State University, and cover topics including community ecology (from microbes to fishes), deep-sea coral age, growth, and reproduction, and population connectivity of deep-sea corals and inhabitants. Data from these studies are presented in the chapters and appendices of the report as well as in journal publications. All chapters are published here for the first time except for figures from Chapter 5 entitled "Deep-sea black coral growth rate and age distribution in the Gulf of Mexico" which were previously published in Marine Ecology Progress Series (Prouty and others, 2011). The editors of Marine Ecology Progress Series have granted permission for these figures to be reprinted here.iv AcknowledgmentsWe thank our funding agency, USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, which provided support for the research and field endeavors for several of the research cruises. Both Colleen Charles and Dr. Gary Brewer were instrumental in the success of this multi-year study by continuing to support this endeavor. We thank the Bureau of Ocean...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico

Demopoulos¹,

Ross²,

Kellogg³

et al. 2017

Open-File Report

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“…The intermediate depth group had 7 clusters (18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25 and It should be noted that defining depth centers for the Stomiidae was especially problematic as a significant fraction of their populations do not migrate on a daily basis but remain at depth, thereby generating a strongly polymodal vertical distribution pattern (Sutton & Hopkins 1996b). Our feeding data, however, suggest that most stomiid predation is in the epipelagic zone at night, with little feeding occurring in the nonmigratory components of the populations (Sutton & Hopkins 1996a). Also note that a number of species were distributed over more than 1 depth cluster, examples being Gonostorna elongatum and Notoscopelus resplendens, which occur, respectively, in 5 and 3 different clusters.…”

Section: Spatial Distributionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Fish and shrimp gut contents were examined microscopically in water or fuchsin-acid-stained glycerin. Contents were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and food measurements (to the nearest 0.1 mm) were converted to estimates of dry organic weight of undigested prey using procedures described in Hopluns & Gartner (1992), Hopkins et al (1994Hopkins et al ( , 1996, and Sutton & Hopkins (1996a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Midwater fishes and shrimps as competitors and resource partitioning in low latitude oligotrophic ecosystems

Hopkins¹,

Sutton²

1998

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Ohgotrophic tropical-subtrop~cal oceanic regimes constitute the largest and most ancient ecosystem on earth, with these enormous areas being characterized by high faunal divers~ty. The stability and age of the ecosystem have enabled the evolution of many similar species niches where there is considerable overlap in niche parameters such as food and space, resulting in high species packing, especially in the epi-and mesopelagic zones. Competition for limited resources undoubtedly exists and has been described by MacArthur (1972; Geographical ecology, Harper and Row, New York) as diffuse competition where each species is impacted by many other species sharing the environment. Most studies of resource partitioning in the oceanic pelagial have been restricted to specific taxonomic groups, such as copepods, fishes, shrimps, or cephalopods, and intergroup relationships have not been examined. The 2 dominant (numbers and blomass) components of low latitude m.id\vater rmcronekton communities, based on trawl catches, are flshes and shrimps, and the present study reveals that species from each of these 2 assemblages occur in the same feeding guilds and hence potentially compete for food resources. However, as additional niche parameters are included in the analysis, such as food size and predator vertical distribution, groups of species with matching niche characteristics become increasingly smaller. Results of this study suggest that as additional information on individual life histories is obtained, such as data on seasonahty of reproduction and population dynamics, the same pattern will emerge as we have found for fishes and shrimps considered separately, i.e. that resource partitioning occurs at the species level despite the pressures of diffuse intra-and intergroup competition. This mininlizes competitive exclusion and enables the maintenance of a high-diversity fauna in resource-poor low latitude ecosystems.

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“…ESM2.1 links a climate model (CM2.1; Delworth et al 2006, Gnanadesikan et al 2006) to a biogeochemical model, Tracers of Phytoplankton with Allometric Zooplankton (TOPAZ; Dunne et al 2005), and data used represent the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenario A2 (for details, see Polovina et al 2011, Howell et al 2013). Clarke (1973), Maynard et al (1975), Childress et al (1980), Hopkins & Gartner (1992), Sutton & Hopkins (1996) Zooplanktivorous micronekton fishes Mesopelagic fishes from the families Myctophidae, Gonostomatidae, Phosichthyidae, Bregmacerotidae, and Sternoptychidae inhabiting waters 200−1000 m. Many are vertical migrators and feed on zooplankton.…”

Section: Ecosystem Modeling Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding the way to the top: how the composition of oceanic mid-trophic micronekton groups determines apex predator biomass in the central North Pacific

Choy

Wabnitz²,

Weijerman³

et al. 2016

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We updated and expanded a model of the pelagic ecosystem for the area of the central North Pacific occupied by the Hawaii-based longline fishery. Specifically, results from the most recent diet studies were used to expand the representation of the lesser-known non-target fish species (e.g. lancetfish, opah, snake mackerel) and 9 mid-trophic micronekton functional groups. The model framework Ecopath with Ecosim was used to construct an ecosystem energy budget and to examine how changes in the various micronekton groups impact apex predator biomass. Model results indicate that while micronekton fishes represented approximately 54% of micronekton biomass, they accounted for only 28% of the micronekton production. By contrast, crustaceans represented 24% of the biomass and accounted for 44% of production. Simulated ecosystem changes resulting from changes to micronekton groups demonstrated that crustaceans and mollusks are the most important direct trophic pathways to the top of the food web. Other groups appear to comprise relatively inefficient pathways or 'trophic dead-ends' that are loosely coupled to the top of the food web (e.g. gelatinous animals), such that biomass declines in these functional groups resulted in increased biomass at the highest trophic levels by increasing energy flow through more efficient pathways. Overall, simulated declines in the micronekton groups resulted in small changes in biomass at the very top of the food web, suggesting that this ecosystem is relatively ecologically resilient with diverse food web pathways. However, further understanding of how sensitive micronekton are to changes in ocean chemistry and temperature resulting from climate change is needed to fully evaluate and predict potential ecosystem changes.

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Trophic ecology of the stomiid (Pisces: Stomiidae) fish assemblage of the eastern Gulf of Mexico: Strategies, selectivity and impact of a top mesopelagic predator group

Cited by 110 publications

References 60 publications

Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico

Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico

Midwater fishes and shrimps as competitors and resource partitioning in low latitude oligotrophic ecosystems

Finding the way to the top: how the composition of oceanic mid-trophic micronekton groups determines apex predator biomass in the central North Pacific

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