Flux by fin: fish-mediated carbon and nutrient flux in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Nelson, James A.; Wilson, Rachel M.; Coleman, Felicia C.; Koenig, Christopher C.; DeVries, Doug A.; Gardner, C. L.; Chanton, Jeff

doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1814-4

Cited by 47 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…By our estimates pinfish are 308 23% of the total nitrogen available to upper trophic levels. This is in good agreement with a 309 14 previous study that found 18.5-25 % seagrass-derived biomass in grouper muscle tissue in the 310 northeastern GOM (Nelson et al 2012). Therefore, we conclude that our estimates are 311 reasonable and include all the major nitrogen potentially entering offshore food webs.…”

Section: Conclusion 300supporting

confidence: 90%

“…Our estimated pinfish biomass flux of nitrogen to the offshore grouper habitat is 303 greater than the amount of nitrogen (when transferred to the 3 rd trophic level) delivered from the 304 Apalachicola River, the Suwannee River, and from SGD, and is on the same order as 305 atmospheric deposition and Trichodesmium N fixation in the northeastern GOM. Furthermore, 306 isotopic evidence suggests that because the flux is in the form of prey, it is has a disproportional 307 effect on offshore food webs (Deegan, 1993;Nelson et al, 2012). By our estimates pinfish are 308 23% of the total nitrogen available to upper trophic levels.…”

Section: Conclusion 300mentioning

confidence: 75%

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Biomass Transfer Subsidizes Nitrogen to Offshore Food Webs

et al. 2013

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34We evaluated the potential contribution of allochthonous biomass subsidies to the upper 35 trophic levels of offshore food webs in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). We made this 36 evaluation considering nitrogen, an essential and often limiting nutrient in coastal ecosystems, to 37 estimate the potential production of within-ecosystem biomass relative to the known import of 38 biomass from an adjacent seagrass dominated ecosystem. When adjusted for trophic transfer 39 efficiency, we found the biomass subsidy from a single species (pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides) 40 from neashore seagrass habitat to the offshore GOM to be greater than the amount of nitrogen 41 exported by a two major rivers and local submarine ground water discharge. Our calculations 42show that seagrass-derived biomass accounts for ~25% of the total potential production in the 43 northeastern GOM. This estimate is in agreement with a previous study that found 18.5-25% of 44 the biomass in a predatory reef fish was derived from seagrass biomass inputs. These results 45 indicate that all of the sources we consider account for the majority of the nitrogen available to 46 the food web in the northeastern GOM. Our approach could be adapted to other coupled 47 ecosystems to determine the relative importance of biomass subsidies to coastal ocean food 48 webs. 49

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Section: Conclusion 300supporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Conclusion 300mentioning

confidence: 75%

Biomass Transfer Subsidizes Nitrogen to Offshore Food Webs

et al. 2013

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“…Periods of high drift algae abundance (June-August) cause accumulation of significant mass in the tows and therefore tow periods had to be shortened to prevent equipment damage and permit researchers to safely retrieve trawls. Fortunately, this period also corresponds with high fish abundance in the seagrass (Nelson et al, 2011) such that we typically caught large volumes of fish despite the shorter tow times.…”

Section: Consumersmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Epiphytes are themselves only transiently available, most abundant during the warmer months of the year when seagrass coverage is greatest and nearly absent during the winter months at this latitude (Virnstein and Carbonara, 1985;Iverson and Bittaker, 1986;Fourqurean et al, 2001). Similarly, many of the teleost species that inhabit the seagrass during the warm summer months undergo an annual egress (Nelson et al, 2011(Nelson et al, , 2013. Larval stages of many species settle in the seagrass bed early in the year (Nelson, 1998), grow to maturity during the highly productive summer months, and then move offshore to spawn, most never returning, instead being consumed by offshore species (Nelson et al, 2011(Nelson et al, , 2013.…”

Section: Organic Matter Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche Differentiation and Prey Selectivity among Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Sighted in St. George Sound, Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2017

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Two groups of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been identified within St. George Sound, Florida, USA: high site-fidelity individuals (HSF) which are individuals sighted multiple times in the region (i.e., ≥2 months, ≥2 seasons, and ≥2 years), and low site-fidelity individuals (LSF), which are individuals sighted fewer than 2 months, in 2 different seasons among 2 different years. Our goal was to determine whether differences in foraging behaviors were correlated with differences in sighting frequency and overall usage of St. George Sound by the two groups. We used carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotopes and niche hypervolume metrics to model the foodweb of St. George Sound. Mixing model results indicated that croaker, mojarra, pigfish, pinfish, and silverperch were the most important prey items for dolphins. The hypervolume metrics demonstrate niche partitioning between HSFs and LSFs, with the HSFs relying more heavily on pinfish, pigfish, and mojarra, while the LSFs relied more on silverperch. Plankton, benthic diatoms, seagrass, and epiphytes all contributed to secondary production within St. George Sound. This diversity of source utilization by seagrass-associated consumers supported by a high rate of total production likely sustains high secondary productivity despite the potential for competition in this system. Zooplankton was the most important basal source to the system, followed by seagrass and benthic primary production (as indicated by a sanddollar proxy). The reliance of dolphins on seagrass-dependent prey indicates that alteration of seagrass habitat would significantly impact the dolphin community foraging in St. George Sound and suggests that preservation of seagrass habitat is an important component of an effective management strategy for dolphin populations in the region.

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“…The Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) is both the target of a commercially important fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM;Pritchard, 2005;Vaughan et al 1 ;McCrea-Strub et al, 2011) and is an ecologically important prey item for commercially and recreationally valuable species (Del Rio et al, 2010;Nelson et al, 2012;Simonsen and Cowan, 2013). Gulf menhaden have an established distributional range from the western central Atlantic to the GOM, and specifically within the GOM from Florida Bay to the Bay of Campeche (Whitehead, 1985).…”

Section: Abstract-sagittal Otoliths (N=208)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of recruitment through a coastal hydrodynamic boundary layer on growth and otolith microstructure of larval Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

Kupchik¹,

Shaw²

2017

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Abstract-Sagittal otoliths (n=208)were removed from larval Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) collected in a Louisiana tidal pass over a 2-year period, from October 2006 to March 2007 and from September 2007 to March 2008, and analyzed with digital imaging and fast Fourier transformations to estimate age and growth. Length at age was estimated by using a 2-cycle Laird-Gompertz growth model and the growth rates were found to be relatively consistent with rates from previous research in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the estimated timing of an ontogenetic shift in feeding strategy occurred at approximately 33 days after spawning. Laird-Gompertz growth models fitted separately to age and length groupings revealed that the ontogenetic shift was correlated more with larval age than with length. Measurements taken from digital images were used to conduct fine-scale analyses of otolith microstructure and confirmed that a change in otolith structure coincided with the ontogenetic shift in feeding at approximately 33 days after spawning. Keys of length frequencies at age were used to assess temporal variability in Gulf menhaden spawning and they revealed earlier (i.e., September) recruitment to spawning and estuarine areas and shorter recruitment corridors than those previously reported.

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Flux by fin: fish-mediated carbon and nutrient flux in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Cited by 47 publications

References 27 publications

Biomass Transfer Subsidizes Nitrogen to Offshore Food Webs

Biomass Transfer Subsidizes Nitrogen to Offshore Food Webs

Niche Differentiation and Prey Selectivity among Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Sighted in St. George Sound, Gulf of Mexico

Effects of recruitment through a coastal hydrodynamic boundary layer on growth and otolith microstructure of larval Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

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