Nutritional Limitation Travels up the Food Chain

Boersma, Maarten; Aberle, Nicole; Hantzsche, Florian; Schoo, Katherina L.; Wiltshire, Karen Helen; Malzahn, Arne M.

doi:10.1002/iroh.200811066

Cited by 116 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Autotroph communities with larger variation of stoichiometry have lesser influence than the variation in herbivores and other consumers . For example, the C:P ratio of algae ranges from 100-1000 whereas C:P ratio of zooplankton ranges from 70-200 (Boersma et al, 2008). The C:P ratio of Daphnia, the mostly studied zooplankton was found to be approximately 80-90 (Sterner and Hessen, 1994).…”

Section: P Dependent Stoichiometric Regulation Of Food Chainmentioning

confidence: 95%

C and P in aquatic food chain: A review on C:P stoichiometry and PUFA regulation

Saikia

Nandi

2010

Knowl. Managt. Aquatic Ecosyst.

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Key-words:aquatic ecosystem, grazing food chain, microbial loop, PUFA, stoichiometry, homeostasis Carbon (C) and phosphorous (P) regulation in aquatic food chains are transferred from lower to upper trophic levels primarily as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and C:P stoichiometry. The majority of C is transferred through algal based pathway. Microbial loop, though optionally contributes to C transfer, highly constrained by P limitation and bacterial predator type. Lack of essential PUFAs in bacteria is also responsible for its low trophic transfer of C. The seston size and algal taxonomic variations directly affect herbivore through P-dependent food quality and de novo synthesis of PUFAs. Change in algal community over a gradient could therefore determine C transfer. Feeding nature (herbivorous or carnivorous) and predator sizes also regulate transfer efficiency of C and P to upper trophic levels. As trophic levels move up, P-limitation becomes higher compared to autotrophs. For Daphnia, as mostly studied aquatic herbivore member, P limitation becomes critical at C:P > 300 indicating excess C is not always invited under P-deficient situations. However, as a part of homeostasis mechanism for trophic upgrading, conversion of algal-zooplankton interface from qualitative to quantitative could minimize such critical C:P regulation at higher trophic levels. Protists, in turn, with high clearance rate by zooplankton predator could also compensate qualitative effect. RÉSUMÉC et P dans les chaînes alimentaires aquatiques : une revue sur la stoechimétrie C:P et la régulation par les PUFA Les régulations par carbone (C) et phosphore (P) dans les chaînes trophiques aquatiques sont transférées des niveaux trophiques inférieurs vers les supérieurs au travers des acides gras polyinsaturés (PUFAs) et du rapport stoechiométrique C:P. La majorité du C est transférée par la voie reposant sur les algues. La boucle microbienne, bien que contribuant au transfert du C, est très contrainte par la limitation en P et la prédation. Un manque de PUFAs essentiels est également responsable de ce faible transfert du C. La taille du seston et les variations taxonomiques des algues affectent directement les herbivores au travers de la qualité nutritionnelle dépendante du P et de la synthèse de novo de PUFAs. Le type de nourriture (herbivorie ou carnivorie) et les tailles de prédateurs régulent aussi l'efficacité du transfert de C et P vers les niveaux trophiques supérieurs. La limitation par P devient plus importante dans les niveaux trophiques supérieurs. Pour Daphnia, comme pour beaucoup d'organismes herbivores étudiés, la limitation par P devient cruciale quand C:P > 300, indiquant un excès de C pas toujours dû à des situations de déficience en P. Toutefois, comme part du mécanisme d'homéo-stasie pour le « trophic upgrading », le passage de l'interface algue-zooplancton de qualitatif à quantitatif peut atténuer la régulation critique C:P aux niveaux trophiques supérieurs. Les protistes, avec un taux de prédation par le zooplanct...

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Section: P Dependent Stoichiometric Regulation Of Food Chainmentioning

confidence: 95%

C and P in aquatic food chain: A review on C:P stoichiometry and PUFA regulation

Saikia

Nandi

2010

Knowl. Managt. Aquatic Ecosyst.

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“…Subsequently, both deficits and excesses of mineral elements were found to adversely affect the growth rate of consumers (Boersma and Elser, 2006). Secondary consumers were first deemed to be limited by energy, since their prey have similar elemental contents, but given that excess elements can impact growth negatively and that consumer stoichiometry is more variable than previously thought, the jury is still out on whether limitation by resources other than energy is possible (Boersma et al, 2008;Lemoine et al, 2014; Table 2). Besides, imbalance in the stoichiometry of a prey may be associated with other changes in prey quality that may impact predators, an acknowledged but often neglected complication (Mitra and Flynn, 2005).…”

Section: Ecological Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Operational Framework for the Advancement of a Molecule-to-Biosphere Stoichiometry Theory

et al. 2017

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Biological stoichiometry is an approach that focuses on the balance of elements in biological interactions. It is a theory that has the potential to causally link material processes at all biological levels-from molecules to the biosphere. But the lack of a coherent operational framework has so far restricted progress in this direction. Here, we provide a framework to help infer how a stoichiometric imbalance observed at one level impacts all other biological levels. Our framework enables us to highlight the areas of the theory in need of completion, development and integration at all biological levels. Our hope is that this framework will contribute to the building of a more predictive theory of elemental transfers within the biosphere, and thus, to a better understanding of human-induced perturbations to the global biogeochemical cycles.

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“…Under high pCO 2 conditions, increasing carbon availability has the potential to change the stoichiometry of nutrients to primary producers. Carbon to nutrient ratios, which are already comparatively high in diatoms, will increase under such scenarios, making them of inferior quality to herbivorous consumers (Sterner and Elser 2002, Boersma et al 2008, Malzahn et al 2007, Schoo et al 2013, Nobili et al 2013. The lower enzymatic specificity for CO 2 in dinoflagellates makes them less responsive to CO 2 enrichment and their carbon to nutrient ratios are less affected than diatoms (Tortell 2000), and they retain their quality as food items.…”

Section: Dinoflagellate Response To Acute Pco 2 Elevationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of acute ocean acidification on spatially-diverse polar pelagic foodwebs: Insights from on-deck microcosms

Tarling

Peck

Ward

et al. 2016

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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The polar oceans are experiencing some of the largest levels of ocean acidification (OA) resulting from the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Our understanding of the impacts this is having on polar marine communities is mainly derived from studies of single species in laboratory conditions, while the consequences for food web interactions remain largely unknown. This study carried out experimental manipulations of natural pelagic communities at different high latitude sites in both the northern (Nordic Seas) and southern hemispheres (Scotia and Weddell Seas). The aim of this study was to identify more generic responses and greater experimental reproducibility through implementing a series of short term (4 day), multilevel (3 treatment) carbonate chemistry manipulation experiments on unfiltered natural surface ocean communities, including grazing copepods. The experiments were successfully executed at six different sites, covering a diverse range of environmental conditions and differing plankton community compositions. The study identified the interaction between copepods and dinoflagellate cell abundance to be significantly altered by elevated levels of dissolved CO 2 (pCO 2 ), with dinoflagellates decreasing relative to ambient conditions across all six experiments. A similar pattern was not observed in any other major 2 phytoplankton group. The patterns indicate that copepods show a stronger preference for dinoflagellates when in elevated pCO 2 conditions, demonstrating that changes in food quality and altered grazing selectivity may be a major consequence of ocean acidification. The study also found that transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) generally increased when pCO 2 levels were elevated, but the response was dependent on the exact set of environmental conditions. Bacteria and nannoplankton showed a neutral response to elevated pCO 2 and there was no significant relationship between changes in bacterial or nannoplankton abundance and that of TEP concentrations. Overall, the study illustrated that, although some similar responses exist, these contrasting high latitude surface ocean communities are likely to show different responses to the onset of elevated pCO 2 .

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Nutritional Limitation Travels up the Food Chain

Cited by 116 publications

References 60 publications

C and P in aquatic food chain: A review on C:P stoichiometry and PUFA regulation

C and P in aquatic food chain: A review on C:P stoichiometry and PUFA regulation

An Operational Framework for the Advancement of a Molecule-to-Biosphere Stoichiometry Theory

Effects of acute ocean acidification on spatially-diverse polar pelagic foodwebs: Insights from on-deck microcosms

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