A food web analysis of the Río de la Plata estuary and adjacent shelf ecosystem: trophic structure, biomass flows, and the role of fisheries

Lercari, Diego; Horta, Sebastián; Martínez, Gastón; Calliari, Danilo; Bergamino, Leandro

doi:10.1007/s10750-014-1964-8

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The 11.8% mean Transfer Efficiency (TE) between trophic levels was similar to the theoretical value of 10% assumed by Lindeman (1942) and comparable to those of other estuarine trophic models: Yangtze Estuary, China, TE = 10% (Han et al, 2016); Río de la Plata Estuary, Uruguay, TE = 9.4% (Lercari et al, 2015) and Caeté Estuary, Brazil, TE = 9.8% (Wolff et al, 2000). In Sirinhaém, the relatively higher level of TE in the system is probably because there were fewer pathways between the trophic levels, which can be associated with low species diversity in ecosystems (Tomczak et al, 2009).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The SIR model had a high Overhead and low values of FCI, similar to the values of other tropical ecosystems, such as the Mamanguape Estuary, Brazil (Xavier, 2013), the Gambia Estuary, Senegal (Villanueva, 2015), and the temperate Somme Estuary, France (Rybarczyk et al, 2003). and Uruguay, Lercari et al (2015)). Given their high dynamics, as in the case of other coastal ecosystems (i.e., bays, reefs, lagoons and shelfs), estuaries are considered to be immature or developing systems (John and Lawson, 1990) that require particular strategies to maintain the equilibrium state, such as ecosystem-based management that integrates the river basins and the coastal and marine areas, considering the functional limits of the systems (Pallero Flores et al, 2017).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscript 13supporting

confidence: 64%

“…Table S6 for model details. Xavier (2013) Caete estuary CAE 220 Brazil 19 Tropical Wolff et al (2000) Sine-Saloum estuary SIN 543 Senegal 37 Tropical Villanueva (2015) Gambia River estuary GAM 654 Senegal 41 Tropical Villanueva (2015) Cameroon estuary CAM 1750 Cameroon 26 Tropical Simon and Raffaelli (2016) Ogun State coastal estuary OGU 26 Nigeria 14 Tropical Abdul and Adekoya (2016) Bamboung Bolong* BOL BOL2 4.7 Senegal 31 Tropical Colléter et al (2012) Río de la Plata estuary RÍO 70500 Uruguay 37 Sub-Tropical Lercari et al (2015) Pearl Selleslagh et al (2012) Somme estuary SOM 50 France 9 Temperate Rybarczyk et al (2003) Seine estuary SEI 188.7 France 15 Temperate Rybarczyk and Elkaïm (2003) St…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trophic flow structure of a neotropical estuary in northeastern Brazil and the comparison of ecosystem model indicators of estuaries

Lira

Angelini

Loc’h

et al. 2018

Journal of Marine Systems

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We developed an Ecopath model in the Estuary of Sirinhaém River (SIR), a small-sized system surrounded by mangroves, subject to high impact, mainly by sugar cane industry and other farming industries in order to describe the food web structure and trophic interactions. In addition, we compared our findings with those of 20 available Ecopath estuarine models for tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, aiming to synthesize the knowledge on trophic dynamics and provide a comprehensive analysis of the structures and functioning of estuaries. Our model consisted of 25 compartments and its indicators were within the expected range for estuarine areas around the world. The average trophic transfer efficiency for the entire system was 11.8%, similar to the theoretical value of 10%. The Keystone Index and MTI (Mixed Trophic Impact) analysis indicated that the snook (Centropomus undecimalis and Centropomus parallelus) and jack (Caranx latus and Caranx hippos) are considered as key resources in the system, revealing its high impact in the food web. Both the species have a high ecological and commercial relevance, despite the unregulated fisheries. As result of the comparison of ecosystem model indicators in estuaries, differences in the ecosystem structure from the low latitude zones (tropical estuaries) to the high latitude zones (temperate system) were noticed. The structure of temperate and sub-tropical estuaries were based on high flows of detritus and export, while tropical systems have high biomass, respiration and consumption rates. Higher values of System Omnivory Index (SOI) and Overhead (SO) were observed in the tropical and subtropical estuaries, denoting a more complex food chain. Globally, none of the estuarine models were classified as fully mature ecosystems, although the tropical ecosystems were considered more mature than the subtropical and temperate ecosystems. This study is an important contribution to the trophic modeling of estuaries, Highlights ► Sirinhaém estuary, Northeast Brazil, is an immature and resilient ecosystem. ► The jack and, mainly, snook were key species in the Estuary of Sirinhaém River. ► Tropical estuaries were based in high biomass, respiration and consumption rates. ► The System Overhead Index was higher in tropical estuaries than in the other systems. ► TPP/TR was lower in tropical estuaries than in the other systems.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Accepted Manuscript 13supporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trophic flow structure of a neotropical estuary in northeastern Brazil and the comparison of ecosystem model indicators of estuaries

Lira

Angelini

Loc’h

et al. 2018

Journal of Marine Systems

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“…The results indicate that ecological singularity is high among mesopredatory myliobatoid rays in a temperate coastal ecosystem with high primary productivity, implying that ecological singularity in mesopredatory myliobatoids is not restricted to high-diversity oligotrophic ecosystems. High levels of deposition of suspended organic matter support a high biomass of benthic invertebrates of the coastal ecosystem off Uruguay and northern Argentina (Acha et al 2004;Lercari et al 2015). This suggests that resource partitioning among benthic myliobatoid predators would be low, as a result of high prey abundance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological singularity of temperate mesopredatory myliobatoid rays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)

Ruocco

Lucifora

2017

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Many myliobatoid rays are important mesopredators, having significant effects on coastal benthic communities. In tropical and subtropical high-diversity oligotrophic ecosystems, they partition their trophic resources, which results in high ecological singularity. However, it is unknown whether this is true for temperate low-diversity eutrophic ecosystems. In the present study, we tested, for the first time, the hypothesis that myliobatoid mesopredators are ecologically redundant in a temperate low-diversity eutrophic ecosystem. We quantified diet and measured intra-and interspecific trophic overlap in the three species that regularly occur off Uruguay and northern Argentina, namely Myliobatis goodei, Myliobatis ridens and Dasyatis hypostigma. M. ridens had a typical durophagic diet composed of bivalves and gastropods, M. goodei fed primarily on polychaetes and decapods, diverging from the durophagic diet typical of its genus, and D. hypostigma preyed primarily on amphipods and decapods. There were ontogenetic and seasonal dietary differences in all three species. It is concluded that ecological singularity is present in this temperate myliobatoid assemblage, with each species having a different trophic niche. The practice of pooling together myliobatoid mesopredators in trophic models must be abandoned unless there is evidence of ecological redundancy.

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“…Several fish species use the RPE as nursery and/ or spawning ground (Acha et al, 1999;Norbis and Verocay, 2005). Artisanal and industrial scale fleets of Argentina and Uruguay harvest scienids (Micropogonias furnieri, Cynoscion gutucupa), engraulids (Engraulis anchota) and clupeoids (Brevoortia aurea) among other (Lercari et al, 2015). The significance of the RPE extends beyond the immediate region, as biogeochemical processes within the estuary likely affect particulate and dissolved matter fluxes between the continent and the Atlantic ocean.…”

Section: Rio De La Plata Estuarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinity regulation of copepod egg production in a large microtidal estuary

et al. 2019

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Calliari et al.: Salinity regulation of copepod production 1 Salinity regulation of copepod egg production in a large microtidal estuary Salinity is a key variable for ecological processes in estuaries. Acartia tonsa is a typical estuarine copepod whose responses to salinity have been thoroughly studied in the laboratory. However, results cannot be extrapolated to the field, and formal comparisons between lab and field responses to salinity were not attempted. Here we compare lab-based with field copepod egg production rates (EPR) from the Río de la Plata estuary (RPE), with focus on A. tonsa. Field work was conducted between 2009 and 2011 in the mixing zone of the RPE. Water temperature, salinity and chlorophyll-a varied over ample ranges (temperature: 10.54-24.56ºC, salinity: 2.83-32.99, chlorophyll-a: 0.62-7.27 mg m-3). A. tonsa was the strongly dominant species. EPR ranged between 6.7 and 95.7 eggs female-1 day-1 , and correlated to salinity, temperature (weakly), but not to chlorophyll. The relationship between A. tonsa's EPR (EPR AT) and salinity was consistent with that obtained under laboratory conditions: a humped pattern with a maximum at intermediate salinities. However, differences were also evident, e.g., higher EPR AT was measured in the field. We speculate that discrepancies derive from nutritional differences between field and reference (laboratory) data sets. Besides salinity, food quality and quantity may be first order drivers of A. tonsa's productivity in the RPE.

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A food web analysis of the Río de la Plata estuary and adjacent shelf ecosystem: trophic structure, biomass flows, and the role of fisheries

Cited by 16 publications

References 73 publications

Trophic flow structure of a neotropical estuary in northeastern Brazil and the comparison of ecosystem model indicators of estuaries

Trophic flow structure of a neotropical estuary in northeastern Brazil and the comparison of ecosystem model indicators of estuaries

Ecological singularity of temperate mesopredatory myliobatoid rays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)

Salinity regulation of copepod egg production in a large microtidal estuary

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