Weak cross-species relationships between body size and trophic level belie powerful size-based trophic structuring in fish communities

2001 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 934-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Jennings ◽  
John K. Pinnegar ◽  
Nicholas V. C. Polunin ◽  
Trevor W. Boon
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Species Relationships

The relationship between trophic level and body size in fishes depends on functional traits

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich W. Keppeler ◽  
Carmen G. Montaña ◽  
Kirk O. Winemiller
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Examining predator–prey body size, trophic level and body mass across marine and terrestrial mammals

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1797) ◽  
pp. 20142103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlee A. Tucker ◽  
Tracey L. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals

Predator–prey relationships and trophic levels are indicators of community structure, and are important for monitoring ecosystem changes. Mammals colonized the marine environment on seven separate occasions, which resulted in differences in species' physiology, morphology and behaviour. It is likely that these changes have had a major effect upon predator–prey relationships and trophic position; however, the effect of environment is yet to be clarified. We compiled a dataset, based on the literature, to explore the relationship between body mass, trophic level and predator–prey ratio across terrestrial ( n = 51) and marine ( n = 56) mammals. We did not find the expected positive relationship between trophic level and body mass, but we did find that marine carnivores sit 1.3 trophic levels higher than terrestrial carnivores. Also, marine mammals are largely carnivorous and have significantly larger predator–prey ratios compared with their terrestrial counterparts. We propose that primary productivity, and its availability, is important for mammalian trophic structure and body size. Also, energy flow and community structure in the marine environment are influenced by differences in energy efficiency and increased food web stability. Enhancing our knowledge of feeding ecology in mammals has the potential to provide insights into the structure and functioning of marine and terrestrial communities.

Body size, trophic level, and the use of fish as transmission routes by parasites

Oecologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 166 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Poulin ◽  
T. L. F. Leung
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Level

Effects of lower trophic level biomass and water temperature on fish communities: A modelling study

2016 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 22-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Guiet ◽  
Olivier Aumont ◽  
Jean-Christophe Poggiale ◽  
Olivier Maury
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Lower Trophic Level ◽  
Modelling Study

scholarly journals Diet shifts of Rhizoprionodon terraenovae from the southern Gulf of Mexico: possible scenario by temperature changes

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-420
Author(s):  
Javier E. Viana-Morayta ◽  
Yassir E. Torres-Rojas ◽  
Jaime Camalich-Carpizo
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Diet Breadth ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae ◽  
Southern Gulf Of Mexico

The current study examined the stomach contents of the Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) in the southern Gulf of Mexico during 2015 to understand the relationship between diet and changes in sea surface temperature (SST). Prey-specific index of relative importance (%PSIRI), diet breadth (Bi), trophic level (TrL), and trophic overlap (PERMANOVA) were calculated between sexes, body size, and climatic seasons (dry, rainy and winter storm). The lowest temperature recorded in the area was during February (23.9°C), and the highest was during August (29.1°C). A total of 124 stomachs were analyzed, with 54.84% containing food. The trophic spectrum was composed of 32 identified prey, with demersal fish (Haemulon plumierii; %PSIRI = 22.82) and pelagic fish (Sardinella aurita; %PSIRI = 12.83) being the most important. According to the diet breadth (Bi = 0.002), Costello's graph, and trophic level (TrL = 4.2), R. terraenovae is a specialist tertiary consumer. PERMANOVA indicated significant trophic differences between sexes (F = 32.22; P < 0.05), body size (F = 13.68; P < 0.05), and among climatic seasons (F = 23.86; P < 0.05). Spearman's correlation indicated a negative relationship between the diversity of prey consumed by R. terraenovae and sea surface temperature (r = -0.75; P < 0.05). Therefore, diet for R. terraenovae is associated with SST, allowing for the development of possible scenarios related to climatic phenomena like climate change.

Structure of marine predator and prey communities along environmental gradients in a glaciated fjord

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2029-2045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Renner ◽  
Mayumi L. Arimitsu ◽  
John F. Piatt
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Level ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Rissa Tridactyla ◽  
Marine Predator ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Biological Attributes

Spatial patterns of marine predator communities are influenced to varying degrees by prey distribution and environmental gradients. We examined physical and biological attributes of an estuarine fjord with strong glacier influence to determine the factors that most influence the structure of predator and prey communities. Our results suggest that some species, such as walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), and glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens), were widely distributed across environmental gradients, indicating less specialization, whereas species such as capelin (Mallotus villosus), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) appeared to have more specialized habitat requirements related to glacial influence. We found that upper trophic level communities were well correlated with their mid trophic level prey community, but strong physical gradients in photic depth, temperature, and nutrients played an important role in community structure as well. Mid-trophic level forage fish communities were correlated with the physical gradients more closely than upper trophic levels were, and they showed strong affinity to tidewater glaciers. Silica was closely correlated with the distribution of fish communities, the mechanisms of which deserve further study.

Long-term dynamics of Chernobyl 137Cs in freshwater fish: quantifying the effect of body size and trophic level

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Sundbom ◽  
Markus Meili ◽  
Evert Andersson ◽  
Mikael Östlund ◽  
Anders Broberg
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Trophic Level

An Allometric Model for Pesticide Bioaccumulation

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Griesbach ◽  
Robert Henry Peters ◽  
Sami Youakim
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Body Burden ◽  
Allometric Model ◽  
Operational Approach ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Empirical Relations ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Qualitative Similarity

A combination of the frequency distribution of body sizes and appropriate allometric relationships may permit a more operational approach to pesticide bioaccumulation than the more traditional trophic level concept. To demonstrate this potential, we describe patterns of bioaccumulation as functions of time and body size in a computer ecosystem in which no differences in trophic level exist. The qualitative similarity between these patterns and those reported in the literature from laboratory and field experiments suggests that empirical relations describing contaminant fluxes as functions of body weight could form a powerful base for the prediction of contaminant body burden in natural systems. We believe this approach could prove useful for any persistent contaminant with high biological affinity.Key words: modeling, bioaccumulation, ecological magnification, allometry, body size

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document