Fatty acids as dietary tracers in benthic food webs

Kelly, Jonathan; Scheibling, Robert Eric

doi:10.3354/meps09559

Cited by 464 publications

(455 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) were particularly abundant in mangroves and brown and red macroalgae, due to the contribution of 16 : 0 and 14 : 0 FAs. Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), typical biomarkers of mangroves (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012;Meziane et al, 2006), were particularly abundant in mangrove leaves. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) consisted almost exclusively of 18 : 2 n6 and 18 : 3 n3 FAs in seagrasses and mangroves, and 20 : 5 n3 in red macroalgae, while 18 : 4 n3, 20 : 4 n6 and 20 : 2 n6 were also abundant in brown macroalgae, consistent with the literature (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012, and references therein).…”

Section: Fatty Acids 321 Primary Producersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relative contributions of 18 : 3 n3, which can be ascribed to both seagrass and mangrove contribution (Alfaro et al, 2006;Meziane et al, 2006), was rather limited in the whole bay or even null within seagrass beds in the rainy season. The polyunsaturated fatty acid 18 : 2 n6, which has been often considered a seagrass indicator in tropical systems (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012, and references therein), and is also a tracer of agriculture-derived organic matter (Meziane and Tsuchiya, 2002), showed fairly low and comparable relative contributions in the whole bay. Indicators of brown macroalgae (18 : 1 n9, 18 : 4 n3 and 20 : 4 n6) resulted to be relatively more abundant (5-10 %) than 20 : 5 n3, which is usually considered a tracer of diatoms (Alfaro et al, 2006;Bachok et al, 2003;Meziane et al, 2006), and also of red macroalgae (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012; results of the present study).…”

Section: Sedimentary and Suspended Particulate Organic Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The polyunsaturated fatty acid 18 : 2 n6, which has been often considered a seagrass indicator in tropical systems (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012, and references therein), and is also a tracer of agriculture-derived organic matter (Meziane and Tsuchiya, 2002), showed fairly low and comparable relative contributions in the whole bay. Indicators of brown macroalgae (18 : 1 n9, 18 : 4 n3 and 20 : 4 n6) resulted to be relatively more abundant (5-10 %) than 20 : 5 n3, which is usually considered a tracer of diatoms (Alfaro et al, 2006;Bachok et al, 2003;Meziane et al, 2006), and also of red macroalgae (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012; results of the present study). It should be mentioned that combined indicators of brown macroalgae and 20 : 5 n3 showed a similar spatial trend that progressively increases toward the coral reef along transect B and slightly higher in M and CR than in the other stations along transect A (Fig.…”

Section: Sedimentary and Suspended Particulate Organic Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, this dual approach has a number of constraints, such as the lowering effect of decomposition on C : N ratio (Bosire et al, 2005;Dunn et al, 2008;Kennedy et al, 2004) or the potential overlapping of basal source isotopic signatures (Fry and Sherr, 1989), which may complicate inferences in coastal areas where autochthonous and allochthonous materials mix. The simultaneous use of other complementary tracers, such as fatty acids (FAs), may significantly improve the determination of OM sources in aquatic systems (Alfaro et al, 2006;Dunn et al, 2008) and their trophic pathways, both detrital and grazing pathways, in complex systems (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012). Indeed, FAs are particularly well suited to distinguishing among a wide range of organic matter sources (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, FAs are particularly well suited to distinguishing among a wide range of organic matter sources (i.e. dinoflagellates, diatoms, mangroves, macroalgae, seagrasses, bacteria) because of their high biological specificity and their structural and trophic stability (Kelly and Scheibling, 2012;Meziane et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small-scale variability in geomorphological settings influences mangrove-derived organic matter export in a tropical bay

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Organic matter (OM) exchanges between adjacent habitats affect the dynamics and functioning of coastal systems, as well as the role of the different primary producers as energy and nutrient sources in food webs. Elemental (C, N, C : N) and isotope (δ 13 C) signatures and fatty acid (FA) profiles were used to assess the influence of geomorphological setting in two climatic seasons on the export and fate of mangrove OM across a tidally influenced tropical area, Gazi Bay (Kenya). The main results indicate that tidal transport, along with riverine runoff, plays a significant role in the distribution of mangrove organic matter. In particular, a marked spatial variability in the export of organic matter from mangroves to adjacent habitats was due to the different settings of the creeks flowing into the bay. Kinondo Creek acted as a mangrove retention site, where export of mangrove material was limited to the contiguous intertidal area, while Kidogoweni Creek acted as a "flow-through" system, from which mangrove material spreads into the bay, especially in the rainy season. This pattern was evident from the isotopic signature of primary producers, which were more 13 C-depleted in the Kinondo Creek and nearby, due to the lower dilution of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool, typically depleted as an effect of intense mangrove mineralisation. Despite the trapping efficiency of the seagrass canopy, suspended particulate OM showed the important contribution of mangroves across the whole bay, up to the coral reef, as an effect of the strong ebb tide. Overall, mixing model outcomes indicated a widespread mixed contribution of both allochthonous and autochthonous OM sources across Gazi Bay. Moreover, FAs indicated a notable contribution of brown macroalgae and bacteria in both sediment and suspended pools. These results suggest that ecological connectivity in Gazi Bay is strongly influenced by geomorphological setting, which may have far-reaching consequences for the functioning of the whole ecosystem and the local food webs.

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Section: Fatty Acids 321 Primary Producersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sedimentary and Suspended Particulate Organic Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sedimentary and Suspended Particulate Organic Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Small-scale variability in geomorphological settings influences mangrove-derived organic matter export in a tropical bay

et al. 2017

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Resemblance profiles as clustering decision criteria: Estimating statistical power, error, and correspondence for a hypothesis test for multivariate structure

Kilborn

Jones

Peebles

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Clustering data continues to be a highly active area of data analysis, and resemblance profiles are being incorporated into ecological methodologies as a hypothesis testing‐based approach to clustering multivariate data. However, these new clustering techniques have not been rigorously tested to determine the performance variability based on the algorithm's assumptions or any underlying data structures. Here, we use simulation studies to estimate the statistical error rates for the hypothesis test for multivariate structure based on dissimilarity profiles (DISPROF). We concurrently tested a widely used algorithm that employs the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) to estimate the proficiency of clustering with DISPROF as a decision criterion. We simulated unstructured multivariate data from different probability distributions with increasing numbers of objects and descriptors, and grouped data with increasing overlap, overdispersion for ecological data, and correlation among descriptors within groups. Using simulated data, we measured the resolution and correspondence of clustering solutions achieved by DISPROF with UPGMA against the reference grouping partitions used to simulate the structured test datasets. Our results highlight the dynamic interactions between dataset dimensionality, group overlap, and the properties of the descriptors within a group (i.e., overdispersion or correlation structure) that are relevant to resemblance profiles as a clustering criterion for multivariate data. These methods are particularly useful for multivariate ecological datasets that benefit from distance‐based statistical analyses. We propose guidelines for using DISPROF as a clustering decision tool that will help future users avoid potential pitfalls during the application of methods and the interpretation of results.

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Spatial and temporal variations in salt marsh microorganisms of the Wadden Sea

Rinke

Maraun

Scheu

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Salt marshes exist at the interface of the marine and the terrestrial system. Shore height differences and associated variations in inundation frequency result in altered abiotic conditions, plant communities, and resource input into the belowground system. These factors result in three unique zones, the upper salt marsh (USM), the lower salt marsh (LSM), and the pioneer zone (PZ). Marine detritus, such as micro‐ and macroalgae, is typically flushed into the PZ daily, with storm surges moving both salt marsh detritus and marine detritus into higher salt marsh zones. Microbial assemblages are essential for the decomposition of organic matter and have been shown to sensitively respond to changes in abiotic conditions such as oxygen supply and salinity. However, temporal and spatial dynamics of microbial communities of Wadden Sea salt marshes received little attention. We investigated the dynamics of soil microbial communities across horizontal (USM, LSM, and PZ), vertical (0–5 and 5–10‐cm sediment depth), and temporal (spring, summer, and autumn) scales in the Wadden Sea salt marsh of the European North Atlantic coast using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Our results show strong spatial dynamics both among salt marsh zones and between sediment depths, but temporal dynamics to be only minor. Despite varying in space and time, PLFA markers indicated that bacteria generally were the dominant microbial group across salt marsh zones and seasons, however, their dominance was most pronounced in the USM, whereas fungal biomass peaked in the LSM and algal biomass in the PZ. Only algal markers and the stress marker monounsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio responded to seasonality. Overall, therefore, the results indicate remarkable temporal stability of salt marsh microbial communities despite strong variability in abiotic factors.

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Fatty acids as dietary tracers in benthic food webs

Cited by 464 publications

References 115 publications

Small-scale variability in geomorphological settings influences mangrove-derived organic matter export in a tropical bay

Small-scale variability in geomorphological settings influences mangrove-derived organic matter export in a tropical bay

Resemblance profiles as clustering decision criteria: Estimating statistical power, error, and correspondence for a hypothesis test for multivariate structure

Spatial and temporal variations in salt marsh microorganisms of the Wadden Sea

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