Is benthic food web structure related to diversity of marine macrobenthic communities?
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2012-08 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Sokolowski Adam1, Wolowicz M.1, Asmus H.2, Asmus R.2, Carlier Antoine 3, Gasiunaite Z.4, Gremare Antoine5, Hummel H.6, Lesutiene J.4, Razinkovas A.4, Renaud Paul7, Richard P.8, Kedra M.9, Lebreton B8 |
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| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Univ Gdansk, Inst Oceanog, PL-81378 Gdynia, Poland. 2 : Alfred Wegener Inst Polar & Marine Res, Wattenmeerstn Sylt, D-25992 List Auf Sylt, Germany. 3 : IFREMER, DYNECO Ecol Benth, F-29280 Plouzane, France. 4 : Univ Klaipeda, Coastal Res & Planning Inst, LT-92294 Klaipeda, Lithuania. 5 : Univ Bordeaux 1, UMR EPOC OASU Stn Marine Arcachon 5805, F-33120 Arcachon, France. 6 : Netherlands Inst Ecol, Ctr Estuarine & Marine Ecol, NL-4401 NT Yerseke, Netherlands. 7 : Akvaplan Niva AS, Fram Ctr Climate & Environm, N-9296 Tromso, Norway. 8 : Univ La Rochelle, CNRS, UMR 6250, F-17042 La Rochelle, France. 9 : Polish Acad Sci, Inst Oceanol, PL-81712 Sopot, Poland. |
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| Meeting | ECSA 46 International Conference on Wadden Sea - Changes and Challenges in a World Heritage Site, List, GERMANY, MAY 03-06, 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Source | Estuarine Coastal And Shelf Science (0272-7714) (Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd), 2012-08 , Vol. 108 , P. 76-86 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ecss.2011.11.011 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 22 | ||||||||||||
| Keyword(s) | macrobenthic communities, biodiversity, food web structure, diversity-structure interactions, European waters | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | Numerical structure and the organisation of food webs within macrozoobenthic communities has been assessed in the European waters (Svalbard, Barents Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea) to address the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Abundance and classical species diversity indices (S, H', J) of macrofaunal communities were related to principal attributes of food webs (relative trophic level and food chain length, FCL) that were determined from carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values. Structure of marine macrobenthos varies substantially at a geographical scale; total abundance ranges from 63 ind. m(-2) to 34,517 ind. m(-2), species richness varies from 3 to 166 and the Shannon-Weaver diversity index from 0.26 to 3.26 while Pielou's evenness index is below 0.73. The major source of energy for macrobenthic communities is suspended particulate organic matter, consisting of phytoplankton and detrital particles, sediment particulate organic matter, and microphytobenthos in varying proportions. These food sources support the presence of suspension- and deposit-feeding communities, which dominate numerically on the sea floor. Benthic food webs include usually four to five trophic levels (FCL varies from 3.08 to 4.86). Most species are assigned to the second trophic level (primary consumers), fewer species are grouped in the third trophic level (secondary consumers), and benthic top predators are the least numerous. Most species cluster primarily at the lowest trophic level that is consistent with the typical organization of pyramidal food webs. Food chain length increases with biodiversity, highlighting a positive effect of more complex community structure on food web organisation. In more diverse benthic communities, energy is transferred through more trophic levels while species-poor communities sustain a shorter food chain. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. | ||||||||||||
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