Influence of Climate Change and Trophic Coupling across Four Trophic Levels in the Celtic Sea

AbstractClimate change scenarios predict increases in temperature and organic matter supply from land to water, which affect trophic transfer of nutrients and contaminants in aquatic food webs. How essential nutrients, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and potentially toxic contaminants, such as methylmercury (MeHg), at the base of aquatic food webs will be affected under climate change scenarios, remains unclear. The objective of this outdoor mesocosm study was to examine how increased water temperature and terrestrially-derived dissolved organic matter supply (tDOM; i.e., lake browning), and the interaction of both, will influence MeHg and PUFA in organisms at the base of food webs (i.e. seston; the most edible plankton size for zooplankton) in subalpine lake ecosystems. The interaction of higher temperature and tDOM increased the burden of MeHg in seston (< 40 μm) and larger sized plankton (microplankton; 40–200 μm), while the MeHg content per unit biomass remained stable. However, PUFA decreased in seston, but increased in microplankton, consisting mainly of filamentous algae, which are less readily bioavailable to zooplankton. We revealed elevated dietary exposure to MeHg, yet decreased supply of dietary PUFA to aquatic consumers with increasing temperature and tDOM supply. This experimental study provides evidence that the overall food quality at the base of aquatic food webs deteriorates during ongoing climate change scenarios by increasing the supply of toxic MeHg and lowering the dietary access to essential nutrients of consumers at higher trophic levels.

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The importance of species interactions in eco-evolutionary community dynamics under climate change

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24977-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anna Åkesson ◽

Alva Curtsdotter ◽

Anna Eklöf ◽

Bo Ebenman ◽

Jon Norberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Temperature Dependent ◽

Modeling Framework ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

The Impact

AbstractEco-evolutionary dynamics are essential in shaping the biological response of communities to ongoing climate change. Here we develop a spatially explicit eco-evolutionary framework which features more detailed species interactions, integrating evolution and dispersal. We include species interactions within and between trophic levels, and additionally, we incorporate the feature that species’ interspecific competition might change due to increasing temperatures and affect the impact of climate change on ecological communities. Our modeling framework captures previously reported ecological responses to climate change, and also reveals two key results. First, interactions between trophic levels as well as temperature-dependent competition within a trophic level mitigate the negative impact of climate change on biodiversity, emphasizing the importance of understanding biotic interactions in shaping climate change impact. Second, our trait-based perspective reveals a strong positive relationship between the within-community variation in preferred temperatures and the capacity to respond to climate change. Temperature-dependent competition consistently results both in higher trait variation and more responsive communities to altered climatic conditions. Our study demonstrates the importance of species interactions in an eco-evolutionary setting, further expanding our knowledge of the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes.

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Recent natural variability in global warming weakened phenological mismatch and selection on seasonal timing in great tits ( Parus major )

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2021.1337 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 288 (1963) ◽

Author(s):

Marcel E. Visser ◽

Melanie Lindner ◽

Phillip Gienapp ◽

Matthew C. Long ◽

Stephanie Jenouvrier

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Parus Major ◽

Great Tit ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Natural Climate Variability ◽

Seasonal Timing ◽

Phenological Mismatch ◽

Natural Climate

Climate change has led to phenological shifts in many species, but with large variation in magnitude among species and trophic levels. The poster child example of the resulting phenological mismatches between the phenology of predators and their prey is the great tit ( Parus major ), where this mismatch led to directional selection for earlier seasonal breeding. Natural climate variability can obscure the impacts of climate change over certain periods, weakening phenological mismatching and selection. Here, we show that selection on seasonal timing indeed weakened significantly over the past two decades as increases in late spring temperatures have slowed down. Consequently, there has been no further advancement in the date of peak caterpillar food abundance, while great tit phenology has continued to advance, thereby weakening the phenological mismatch. We thus show that the relationships between temperature, phenologies of prey and predator, and selection on predator phenology are robust, also in times of a slowdown of warming. Using projected temperatures from a large ensemble of climate simulations that take natural climate variability into account, we show that prey phenology is again projected to advance faster than great tit phenology in the coming decades, and therefore that long-term global warming will intensify phenological mismatches.

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Predator–prey interactions and climate change

Effects of Climate Change on Birds ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198824268.003.0015 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 199-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vincent Bretagnolle ◽

Julien Terraube

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Generalist Predators ◽

Top Down ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Key Topics ◽

Available Information

Climate change is likely to impact all trophic levels, although the response of communities and ecosystems to it has only recently received considerable attention. Further, it is expected to affect the magnitude of species interactions themselves. In this chapter, we summarize why and how climate change could affect predator–prey interactions, then review the literature about its impact on predator–prey relationships in birds, and provide prospects for future studies. Expected effects on prey or predators may include changes in the following: distribution, phenology, population density, behaviour, morphology, or physiology. We review the currently available information concerning particular key topics: top-down versus bottom-up control, specialist versus generalist predators, functional versus numerical responses, trophic cascades and regime shifts, and lastly adaptation and selection. Finally, we focus our review on two well-studied bird examples: seabirds and raptors. Key future topics include long-term studies, modelling and experimental studies, evolutionary questions, and conservation issues.

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Trait-mediated trophic cascade creates enemy-free space for nesting hummingbirds

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.1500310 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (8) ◽

pp. e1500310 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Harold F. Greeney ◽

M. Rocio Meneses ◽

Chris E. Hamilton ◽

Eli Lichter-Marck ◽

R. William Mannan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Habitat Fragmentation ◽

Breeding Success ◽

Indirect Effects ◽

Trophic Cascade ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

Top Predators ◽

Enemy Free Space

The indirect effects of predators on nonadjacent trophic levels, mediated through traits of intervening species, are collectively known as trait-mediated trophic cascades. Although birds are important predators in terrestrial ecosystems, clear examples of trait-mediated indirect effects involving bird predators have almost never been documented. Such indirect effects are important for structuring ecological communities and are likely to be negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation, climate change, and other factors that reduce abundance of top predators. We demonstrate that hummingbirds in Arizona realize increased breeding success when nesting in association with hawks. An enemy-free nesting space is created when jays, an important source of mortality for hummingbird nests, alter their foraging behavior in the presence of their hawk predators.

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Shifts in spawning phenology of cod linked to rising sea temperatures

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsx025 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 (6) ◽

pp. 1561-1573 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Kate McQueen ◽

C. Tara Marshall

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

North Sea ◽

Gadus Morhua ◽

Atlantic Cod ◽

Size Structure ◽

Gonadal Development ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Irish Sea ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea

AbstractWarming temperatures caused by climate change have the potential to impact spawning phenology of temperate marine fish as some species have temperature-dependent gonadal development. Inter-annual variation in the timing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) spawning in the northern North Sea, central North Sea and Irish Sea was estimated by calculating an annual peak roe month (PRM) from records of roe landings spanning the last three decades. A trend towards earlier PRM was found in all three regions, with estimates of shifts in PRM ranging from 0.9 to 2.4 weeks per decade. Temperatures experienced by cod during early vitellogenesis correlated negatively with PRM, suggesting that rising sea temperatures have contributed to a shift in spawning phenology. A concurrent reduction in the mean size of spawning females excluded the possibility that earlier spawning was due to a shift in size structure towards larger individuals, as large cod spawn earlier than smaller-sized individuals in the North Sea. Further research into the effects of climate change on the phenology of different trophic levels within the North Sea ecosystem should be undertaken to determine whether climate change-induced shifts in spawning phenology will result in a temporal mismatch between cod larvae and their planktonic prey.

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Climate change effects on migration phenology may mismatch brood parasitic cuckoos and their hosts

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2009.0312 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 539-541 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Nicola Saino ◽

Diego Rubolini ◽

Esa Lehikoinen ◽

Leonid V. Sokolov ◽

Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Short Distance ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Long Distance ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Parasitism Rates ◽

Migration Phenology ◽

Spring Arrival

Phenological responses to climate change vary among taxa and across trophic levels. This can lead to a mismatch between the life cycles of ecologically interrelated populations (e.g. predators and prey), with negative consequences for population dynamics of some of the interacting species. Here we provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that climate change might disrupt the association between the life cycles of the common cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus ), a migratory brood parasitic bird, and its hosts. We investigated changes in timing of spring arrival of the cuckoo and its hosts throughout Europe over six decades, and found that short-distance, but not long-distance, migratory hosts have advanced their arrival more than the cuckoo. Hence, cuckoos may keep track of phenological changes of long-distance, but not short-distance migrant hosts, with potential consequences for breeding of both cuckoo and hosts. The mismatch to some of the important hosts may contribute to the decline of cuckoo populations and explain some of the observed local changes in parasitism rates of migratory hosts.

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Food web structure of the epibenthic community at the sea ice edge in Baffin Bay, Canada

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26673 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Gustavo Yunda-Guarin ◽

Philippe Archambault ◽

Guillaume Massé ◽

Christian Nozais

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Food Web ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

The Arctic ◽

Feeding Guilds ◽

Food Web Structure ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

Ice Edge ◽

Sea Ice Edge

In polar areas, the pelagic-benthic coupling plays a fundamental role in ensuring organic matter flow across depths and trophic levels. Climate change impacts the Arctic’s physical environment and ecosystem functioning, affecting the sequestration of carbon, the structure and efficiency of the benthic food web and its resilience.In the Arctic Ocean, highest atmospheric warming tendencies (by ~0.5°C) occur in the east of Baffin Bay making this area an ideal site to study the effects of climate change on benthic communities. We sampled epibenthic organisms at 13 stations bordering the sea ice between June and July 2016. The epibenthic taxonomic composition was identified and grouped by feeding guilds. Isotopic signatures (δ13C - δ15N), trophic levels and trophic separation and redundancy were measured and quantified at each station. In the light of the results obtained, the stability of the benthic community in the Baffin Bay at the sea ice edge is discussed.

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2. Effect of climate change on the predation rate of zooplankton in Swan Lake, Sudbury, ON

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.7851 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Corinne Daly

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Predation Rate ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Dynamic Interactions ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Swan Lake ◽

Feeding Trials ◽

Boreal Shield ◽

Biodiversity Changes ◽

Shield Lakes

Climate change interacts with other environmental stressors (e.g., acid deposition, calcium depletion, invasive species) to alter both the chemical and biological characteristics of Boreal Shield lakes, potentially leading to changes in aquatic biodiversity. Changes in biodiversity can result in loss of sensitive species and affect dynamic interactions among species at varying trophic levels. Currently, little is known about the effect of climate warming on predator-prey relationships in aquatic ecosystems. I examine how predicted warming of Boreal Shield lakes may affect predation rate. More specifically, my research examines how temperature affects the predation rate on zooplankton by common macroinvertebrate predators. Zooplankton, Chaoborus and Notonectidae were used from Swan Lake in Sudbury, ON. I performed 24-hr laboratory feeding trials to examine the rate at which predators feed over a range of natural and predicted lake temperatures. By investigating differences in invertebrate predation occurring in Swan Lake, we will be able to predict predator -prey relationships in Boreal Shield lakes subject to warming as a result of climate change.

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Climate change impact on Balearic shearwater through a trophic cascade

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.0225 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 702-705 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

C. Luczak ◽

G. Beaugrand ◽

M. Jaffré ◽

S. Lenoir

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Trophic Cascade ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Significant Shift ◽

Fish Prey ◽

Sea Temperature ◽

Predator Species ◽

Change Impact ◽

Regional Index

A recent study showed that a critically endangered migratory predator species, the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus , rapidly expanded northwards in northeast Atlantic waters after the mid-1990s. As a significant positive correlation was found between the long-term changes in the abundance of this seabird and sea temperature around the British Isles, it was hypothesized that the link between the biogeographic shift and temperature occurred through the food web. Here, we test this conjecture and reveal concomitant changes in a regional index of sea temperature, plankton (total calanoid copepod), fish prey (anchovy and sardine) and the Balearic shearwater for the period 1980–2003. All three trophic levels exhibit a significant shift detected between 1994 and 1996. Our findings therefore support the assertion of both a direct and an indirect effect of climate change on the spatial distribution of post-breeding Balearic shearwater through a trophic cascade.

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