Effects of the alien algae Undaria pinnatifida (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) on the diversity and abundance of benthic macrofauna in Golfo Nuevo (Patagonia, Argentina): potential implications for local food webs

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1521-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejo J. Irigoyen ◽  
Gastón Trobbiani ◽  
Maria P. Sgarlatta ◽  
Maria P. Raffo
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Undaria Pinnatifida ◽  
Benthic Macrofauna

Prelims – Sustaining Local Food Webs

2014 ◽  
pp. i-vii
Author(s):  
Ben Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Food

Sustaining local food webs: insights from Kenya and the UK

Food Chain ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-202
Author(s):  
Patrick Mulvany ◽  
Ben Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Food ◽  
The Uk

Sustaining Local Food Webs

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-84
Author(s):  
Ben Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Food

First report on the importance of alien gobiids in the diet of native piscivorous fishes in the lower Vistula River (Poland)

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Płąchocki ◽  
Jarosław Kobak ◽  
Tomasz Kakareko
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Standard Length ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Northern Pike ◽  
Prey Fish ◽  
Eurasian Perch ◽  
First Report ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
Predator Size

AbstractWe conducted a snapshot study to check the importance of non-native Ponto-Caspian gobies (monkey and racer goby) in the diet of native obligate (northern pike, pikeperch) and facultative (Eurasian perch) predators in the Vistula River 3–4 years after the appearance of aliens. In total 71 fish with non-empty stomachs, taken randomly from net catches from various parts of the river were analyzed, including 32 pike, 20 pikeperch and 19 perch specimens. We found that gobiids prevailed in the diet of smaller (<30 cm standard length, SL) individuals of pike and pikeperch, as well as larger (>15 cm SL) specimens of perch, although the effect of predator size on the presence of gobiids in the diet was not significant in the case of perch. Our results indicate that gobiids as a prey fish can stimulate considerable changes in local food webs, which require further studies.

scholarly journals Ecological Network assembly: how the regional metaweb influences local food webs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo A. Saravia ◽  
Tomás I. Marina ◽  
Marleen De Troch ◽  
Fernando R. Momo
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
List Type ◽  
Assembly Model ◽  
Ecological Stability ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Potter Cove ◽  
Global Properties

AbstractLocal food webs can be studied as the realisation of a sequence of colonising and extinction events, where a regional pool of species — called the metaweb— acts as a source for new species. Food webs are thus the result of assembly processes that are influenced by migration, habitat filtering, stochastic factors, and dynamical constraints. Therefore, we expect their structure to reflect the action of these influences.We compared the structure of empirical local food webs to (1) a metaweb, (2) randomly-constructed webs, and (3) webs resulting from an assembly model. The assembly model had no population dynamics but simply required that consumer species have at least one prey present in the local web. We compared global properties, network sub-structures—motifs— and topological roles that are node-level properties. We hypothesised that the structure of empirical food webs should differ from other webs in a way that reflected dynamical stability and other local constraints. Three data-sets were used: (1) the marine Antarctic metaweb, built using a dietary database; (2) the Weddell Sea local food web; and (3) the Potter Cove local food web.Contrary to our expectation, we found that, while most network global properties of empirical webs were different from random webs, there were almost no differences between empirical webs and those resulting from the assembly model. Further, while empirical webs showed different motif representations compared to the assembly model, these were not motifs associated with increased stability. Species’ topological roles showed differences between the metaweb and local food webs that were not explained by the assembly model, suggesting that species in empirical webs are selected by habitat or dispersal limitations.Our results suggest that there is not a strong dynamical restriction upon food web structure that operates at local scales. Instead, the structure of local webs is inherited from the metaweb with modifications imposed by local habitats.Recently, it has been found in competitive and mutualistic networks that structures that are often attributed as causes or consequences of ecological stability are probably a by-product of the assembly processes (i.e. spandrels). We extended these results to trophic networks suggesting that this could be a more general phenomenon.

scholarly journals Evolution mediates the effects of apex predation on aquatic food webs

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1763) ◽  
pp. 20130859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Urban
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Apex Predator ◽  
Spotted Salamander ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Prey Biomass ◽  
Common Garden Experiments

Ecological and evolutionary mechanisms are increasingly thought to shape local community dynamics. Here, I evaluate if the local adaptation of a meso-predator to an apex predator alters local food webs. The marbled salamander ( Ambystoma opacum ) is an apex predator that consumes both the spotted salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ) and shared zooplankton prey. Common garden experiments reveal that spotted salamander populations which co-occur with marbled salamanders forage more intensely than those that face other predator species. These foraging differences, in turn, alter the diversity, abundance and composition of zooplankton communities in common garden experiments and natural ponds. Locally adapted spotted salamanders exacerbate prey biomass declines associated with apex predation, but dampen the top-down effects of apex predation on prey diversity. Countergradient selection on foraging explains why locally adapted spotted salamanders exacerbate prey biomass declines. The two salamander species prefer different prey species, which explains why adapted spotted salamanders buffer changes in prey composition owing to apex predation. Results suggest that local adaptation can strongly mediate effects from apex predation on local food webs. Community ecologists might often need to consider the evolutionary history of populations to understand local diversity patterns, food web dynamics, resource gradients and their responses to disturbance.

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