Climate effects on fish body size–trophic position relationship depend on ecosystem type

Dantas, Danyhelton D. F.; Caliman, Adriano; Guariento, Rafael Dettogni; Angelini, Ronaldo; Carneiro, Luciana S.; Lima, Sérgio M. Q.; Martínez, P.; Attayde, José Luiz

doi:10.1111/ecog.04307

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Interestingly, a study conducted in a Neotropical floodplain river found that the MTL of carnivorous fishes did not increase with mean body size (Layman et al 2005). A possible explanation is that low availability of prey fish at higher trophic positions during certain periods of the annual hydrologic cycle forces large piscivores to feed at lower trophic levels to meet metabolic demands (Arim et al 2007), especially at tropical regions where the temperatures tend to be high (Dantas et al 2019). Research that explores the relationship between MTL and mean body size across multiple species of non‐carnivorous fishes appears to be lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Keppeler

Montaña

Winemiller

2020

Ecological Monographs

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Predators typically are larger than their prey, and consequently, trophic level should increase with body size. Whereas this relationship has helped in developing predictions about food web structure and dynamics in mesocosms and simple communities, a trophiclevel-body-size relationship may not exist for all kinds of communities or taxa, especially those with many non-carnivorous species. Moreover, functional traits associated with trophic level generally have not been considered. Herein, we examine the correlation between trophic level and body size in fishes and how this relationship may vary in relation to functional traits (body dimensions, mouth size and orientation, tooth shape, gill rakers, and gut length) and trophic guilds (carnivorous vs. non-carnivorous). We analyzed data from morphological measurements and dietary analyses performed on thousands of specimens from freshwater and estuarine habitats across three zoogeographic regions (Neartic, Neotropical, and Afrotropical). A positive relationship between trophic level and body size was only found for carnivorous fishes. No relationship was found when all species were analyzed together, rejecting the idea that trophic level is positively related with body size in fishes generally. This result was consistent even when using either body mass or standard length as the measure of body size, and trophic level for either species (average values) or individual specimens as the response variable. At the intraspecific level, trophic level varied consistently with size for one third of the species, among which only 40% had positive relationships. Body depth, tooth shape, and mouth width were all associated with the trophic-level-body-size relationship. Overall, predators with conical or triangular serrated teeth, large mouths, and elongated/and/or fusiform bodies tend to have positive trophic-level-body-size relationships, whereas primarily non-carnivorous species with unicuspid or multicuspid teeth, deep bodies and small to medium sized mouth gapes tended to have negative relationships. Given the diverse ecological strategies encompassed by fishes, trophic level and food web patterns and processes should not be inferred based solely on body size. Research that integrates multiple functional traits with trophic ecology will improve understanding and predictions about food web structure and dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Keppeler

Montaña

Winemiller

2020

Ecological Monographs

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“…Large Generalist Predators (LGP) can modify prey-predator interactions, because their bigger body size confer them the ability to feed on a wide variety of prey of different sizes (Woodson et al, 2018). We speculate that behavior responses of P. squamosissimus feeding lower on food chains in both areas evolved because, in higher temperatures, animals have higher relative demand for carbon and digestion of plant tissue is easier, inducing higher rates of herbivory and omnivory (Woodson et al, 2018;Dantas et al, 2019). Generalist and opportunistic species as P. squamosissimus are fundamental to restructure impacted food webs, since they could change interactions and trigger trophic cascades on the new environmental conditions (Bartley et al, 2019) despite to remain in the original trophic position.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut content analysis confirms the feeding plasticity of a generalist fish species in a tropical river

Costa

Angelini

2020

Acta Limnol. Bras.

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Aim In this paper, we compared the diet composition of the South American silver croaker, Plasgioscion squamosissimus in preserved and impacted areas (agrarian land use) of an Amazonian river. Our objective was to quantify the plasticity in diet across different habitats and evaluate the importance of a carnivorous generalist species as an environmental indicator based on its feeding variation. Methods We analysed the stomach contents of 135 individuals and compared the trophic level of P. squamosissimus and the source of ingested food items in the impacted and non-impacted habitats. Results The trophic level values in both areas were similar. In both areas, P. squamosissimus used a wide variety of food items, consuming mainly fish and invertebrates of autochthonous origin. However, in terms of composition of food items, small pelagic fish and autochthonous items were more frequently consumed in the preserved area, while in the impacted area fish and benthic invertebrates were predominant in the diet. Conclusions Our gut analysis suggests plasticity in P. squamosissimus diet across varying areas, which point to the ability of P. squamosissimus to modify their diet in the impacted situation, utilizing more benthic material on impacted area in order to maintain a similar trophic position.

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“…Temperature can influence marine ecosystem function at both the system and individual levels. Increasing temperature can cause the metabolism in individuals to increase (Dantas et al, 2019), alter the population structure and phenology of phytoplankton communities (Moisan et al, 2002;Conversi et al, 2010), and result in changes in trait variation within populations (Salo et al, 2020). Consequently, marine ecosystems are reorganizing as temperature influences both range size and species richness (Batt et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Physical Conditions and Lower and Upper Trophic Level Responses on the US Northeast Shelf

et al. 2020

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Sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, and chlorophyll concentration (CHL) have changed in the US Northeast Shelf ecosystem over recent decades. The changes in these parameters were distinctly marked by change points around the year 2012 resulting in a 0.83 • C increase in SST, a 0.3 PSU increase in salinity, and decrease in CHL in excess of 0.4 mg m −3. Where temperature and salinity shifted in mean level around their respective change points, CHL declined in a more monotonic fashion. Modeled data suggest that the shift in CHL resulted in a greater contribution of picoand nanophytoplankton and a decreased contribution of microphytoplankton to overall CHL. Complementary estimates of the contribution of different phytoplankton functional types suggest a diminished contribution of diatoms to the phytoplankton community. Hence, not only is there evidence of a decline in the overall primary production capacity of the ecosystem, but also evidence of a fundamental change in the size and quality of phytoplankton supporting food webs. Two ecosystem responses to the observed changes in SST, salinity, and CHL were analyzed. Both length and weight at age have declined for a number of species, and both measures of growth appear to be negatively associated with temperature and positively associated with CHL. Biomass of fish and macroinvertebrates has declined in recent years, with a decrease in pelagic species associated with a decrease in CHL, while the decline in demersal species was associated with an increase in temperature. Collectively, these ecosystem changes appear to be the result of the complex interactions of both thermal effects and changes at the base of the food web.

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Climate effects on fish body size–trophic position relationship depend on ecosystem type

Cited by 24 publications

References 61 publications

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

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

Gut content analysis confirms the feeding plasticity of a generalist fish species in a tropical river

Changing Physical Conditions and Lower and Upper Trophic Level Responses on the US Northeast Shelf

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