Pyramids of species richness: the determinants and distribution of species diversity across trophic levels

Turney, Shaun; Buddle, Christopher M.

doi:10.1111/oik.03404

Cited by 29 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Relationships within a community, energy flow, and linkages between biota and the environment are all encompassed in Lindeman's approach. The idea of energy flow in an ecosystem strengthened earlier studies such as biomass pyramids (Elton, 1927;Turney and Buddle, 2016), opening the way for incorporation of food webs into ecology to understand ecosystem processes (McIntosh, 1986;Sale, 2002). Definition of ecosystem processes is crucial to trophodynamic studies because they encompass biological, physical, and chemical mechanisms that link species and facilitate energy flow.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Mesopredators are considered to have less of an effect on the trophic structure of a system (Paine, 1980;Estes et al, 2011), but there is little empirical evidence to support this due to difficulty in defining predator-prey relationships. A recent meta-analysis of food web studies found that aquatic models produced a strong pyramid pattern, suggesting scale variance in predator-prey ratios according to biomass power laws consistent with Hatton et al (2015) (Turney and Buddle, 2016). The analysis also showed that on average aquatic communities have a higher diversity of mesopredator species than herbivores, with low abundance of top predators.…”

Section: Controlling Forces In Trophodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Pyramids are the primary structure used to argue resource control, but may oversimplify the unique and fine-scale interactions that occur at the reef level. Marine food webs have been described as "ecological road maps" and the varying networks that link different trophic levels in coral reefs could explain their resilience to cascading effects (Turney and Buddle, 2016). In coral reefs, the semi-open nature of communities increases the difficulty in mapping food webs from source to consumer and the influence mesopredators may have on lower trophic levels.…”

Section: Controlling Forces In Trophodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While some scientists have urged that more process-based ecological models be developed to identify the underlying mechanistic behavior of an ecosystem (Evans et al, 2013;Turney and Buddle, 2016), recent articles still often ignore dynamics of spatial and temporal variability as well as historical baselines (Lamy et al, 2016). Some authors have moved past dynamic models such as Ecopath and explored individual-based predator-prey population models to account for spatiotemporal heterogeneity (Thierry et al, 2015).…”

Section: Ecological Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Current trends in coral reef management highlight both biodiversity and biomass as indicators of reef health (Huston, 1983;Bellwood et al, 2004;Aguilar-Medrano and CalderonAguilera, 2016;Turney and Buddle, 2016). Documented declines in top predators and keystone species from anthropogenic disturbance (Dulvy et al, 2004;Sandin et al, 2008;Estes et al, 2011) have resulted in exploration of trophic cascades and assessment of ecological roles of predators in coral reef reefs (Heupel et al, 2014;Boaden and Kingsford, 2015;Rizzari et al, 2015;Weijerman et al, 2015;Thillainath et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trophodynamics as a Tool for Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems

et al. 2018

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The increased frequency of publications concerning trophic ecology of coral reefs suggests a degree of interest in the role species and functional groups play in energy flow within these systems. Coral reef ecosystems are particularly complex, however, and assignment of trophic positions requires precise knowledge of mechanisms driving food webs and population dynamics. Competent analytical tools and empirical analysis are integral to defining ecosystem processes and avoiding misinterpretation of results. Here we examine the contribution of trophodynamics to informing ecological roles and understanding of coral reef ecology. Applied trophic studies of coral reefs were used to identify recent trends in methodology and analysis. Although research is increasing, clear definitions and scaling of studies is lacking. Trophodynamic studies will require more precise spatial and temporal data collection and analysis using multiple methods to fully explore the complex interactions within coral reef ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Controlling Forces In Trophodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Controlling Forces In Trophodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ecological Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trophodynamics as a Tool for Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems

et al. 2018

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Congruence, but no cascade—Pelagic biodiversity across three trophic levels in Nordic lakes

Andersen

Hessen

Håll

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Covariation in species richness and community structure across taxonomical groups (cross‐taxon congruence) has practical consequences for the identification of biodiversity surrogates and proxies, as well as theoretical ramifications for understanding the mechanisms maintaining and sustaining biodiversity. We found there to exist a high cross‐taxon congruence between phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish in 73 large Scandinavian lakes across a 750 km longitudinal transect. The fraction of the total diversity variation explained by local environment alone was small for all trophic levels while a substantial fraction could be explained by spatial gradient variables. Almost half of the explained variation could not be resolved between local and spatial factors, possibly due to confounding issues between longitude and landscape productivity. There is strong consensus that the longitudinal gradient found in the regional fish community results from postglacial dispersal limitations, while there is much less evidence for the species richness and community structure gradients at lower trophic levels being directly affected by dispersal limitation over the same time scale. We found strong support for bidirectional interactions between fish and zooplankton species richness, while corresponding interactions between phytoplankton and zooplankton richness were much weaker. Both the weakening of the linkage at lower trophic levels and the bidirectional nature of the interaction indicates that the underlying mechanism must be qualitatively different from a trophic cascade.

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Fatty acid analysis reveals variations in the diet of shallow-water spionids (Annelida: Polychaeta: Spionidae)

Zhukova

2023

Mar Biol

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The fatty acid (FA) composition of spionids co-occurring in shallow-water and occupying various habitats was analyzed to characterize the spectrum and diversity of their food sources and elucidate their feeding habits and trophic relationships. These included free-living and tube-dwelling species, and also opportunistic and specialized shell-borers and their hosts. A plot of principal component analysis (PCA) scores based on the FA compositions of nine spionid species recognized five distinct groups with different feeding strategies and revealed differences not only between the species, but also within the same species from various habitats. The predominance of 20:5n-3, C16 polyunsaturated FAs, and 16:1n-7 in suspension feeders indicated that they feed on diatoms. Benthic dinoflagellates and diatoms, as well as bacteria, constituted a major part in the diet of deposit feeders. On the basis of high 22:6n-3 and 18:1n-9 contents, Dipolydora commensalis was attributed to omnivorous with a predominance of animal dietary input. The selective detritivore Polydora glycymerica relies on a microbial food web. FAs of Laonice aff. cirrata indicated the importance of foraminifera in the diet of this subsurface feeder. Polychaetes were found to have a capability of changing their feeding habits depending on habitat. Specialized shell-borers adapt their feeding habits to the host's diet.The results obtained provide evidence that these species actually represent several non-overlapping groups characterized by different feeding strategies, which leads to weakening of their competitive relationships. Partitioning of food sources is regarded as one of the main mechanisms explaining the successful coexistence of spionid species. Keywords Polychaetes • Spionids • Fatty acids • Biomarkers • Trophology • Feeding ecology • Dietstrophic relationships of spionids living in different habitats by the method of FA biomarkers. The question to be addressed was how spionid species co-exist in the same area, especially if they belong to the same trophic group. Methods SamplingAnimals were collected by SCUBA divers in Vostok Bay, Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan, Russia, from October to December. For tube-dwelling spionids, sampled sediments were washed through a 500 µm mesh sieve, and the worms retained were collected and examined live under a light microscope in the laboratory.For sampling shell-boring spionids, live Yesso scallops Mizuhopecten yessoensis (Jay, 1857), live bivalves Glycymeris yessoensis (Sowerby, 1889), and gastropod shells occupied by hermit crabs were collected. Most specimens were from a single locality: silty/sandy bottom at a depth of 3-9 m near the Vostok Marine Biological Station (42°53.542ʹ N, 132°44.092ʹ E). Glycymeris yessoensis were collected from the sandy bottom at a 9 m depth in a small cove about 2 km away (42°53.1ʹ N, 132°43.302ʹ E). Polychaetes were retrieved by cracking infested shells with a hammer and pliers. The collected spionids were identified as follows:Freely crawling in silty sand:

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Pyramids of species richness: the determinants and distribution of species diversity across trophic levels

Cited by 29 publications

References 39 publications

Trophodynamics as a Tool for Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems

Trophodynamics as a Tool for Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems

Congruence, but no cascade—Pelagic biodiversity across three trophic levels in Nordic lakes

Fatty acid analysis reveals variations in the diet of shallow-water spionids (Annelida: Polychaeta: Spionidae)

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