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Consumption patterns, complexity and enrichment in aquatic food chains

Hansson, Lars-Anders LU orcid ; Brönmark, Christer LU ; Nyström, Per LU ; Lundberg, Per LU ; Greenberg, Larry ; Nilsson, Anders LU orcid ; Persson, Anders LU ; Pettersson, Lars LU orcid ; Romare, Pia LU and Tranvik, Lars J. (1998) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences 265(1399). p.901-906
Abstract
The interactions between consumers and prey, and their impact on biomass distribution among trophic levels, are central issues in both empirical and theoretical ecology. In a long-term experiment, where all organisms, including the top predator, were allowed to respond to environmental conditions by reproduction, we tested predictions from `prey-dependent' and `ratio-dependent' models. Prey-dependent

models made correct predictions only in the presence of strong interactors in simple food chains, but failed to predict patterns in more complex situations. Processes such as omnivory, consumer excretion, and unsuitable prey-size windows (invulnerable prey) increased the complexity and created patterns resembling ratio-dependent... (More)
The interactions between consumers and prey, and their impact on biomass distribution among trophic levels, are central issues in both empirical and theoretical ecology. In a long-term experiment, where all organisms, including the top predator, were allowed to respond to environmental conditions by reproduction, we tested predictions from `prey-dependent' and `ratio-dependent' models. Prey-dependent

models made correct predictions only in the presence of strong interactors in simple food chains, but failed to predict patterns in more complex situations. Processes such as omnivory, consumer excretion, and unsuitable prey-size windows (invulnerable prey) increased the complexity and created patterns resembling ratio-dependent consumption. However, whereas the prey-dependent patterns were created by the mechanisms predicted by the model, ratio-dependent patterns were not, suggesting that they may be right for the wrong reason'. We show here that despite the enormous complexity of ecosystems, it is possible to identify and disentangle mechanisms responsible for observed patterns in community structure, as well as in biomass development of organisms ranging in size from bacteria to fish. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
food chain, ratio-dependent, prey-dependent, enrichment, omnivory
in
Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
volume
265
issue
1399
pages
901 - 906
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:0032557598
ISSN
1471-2954
DOI
10.1098/rspb.1998.0376
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
502442df-2b6b-499e-b4c0-b6f7f26b223a (old id 1023095)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:04:13
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:17:55
@article{502442df-2b6b-499e-b4c0-b6f7f26b223a,
  abstract     = {{The interactions between consumers and prey, and their impact on biomass distribution among trophic levels, are central issues in both empirical and theoretical ecology. In a long-term experiment, where all organisms, including the top predator, were allowed to respond to environmental conditions by reproduction, we tested predictions from `prey-dependent' and `ratio-dependent' models. Prey-dependent<br/><br>
models made correct predictions only in the presence of strong interactors in simple food chains, but failed to predict patterns in more complex situations. Processes such as omnivory, consumer excretion, and unsuitable prey-size windows (invulnerable prey) increased the complexity and created patterns resembling ratio-dependent consumption. However, whereas the prey-dependent patterns were created by the mechanisms predicted by the model, ratio-dependent patterns were not, suggesting that they may be right for the wrong reason'. We show here that despite the enormous complexity of ecosystems, it is possible to identify and disentangle mechanisms responsible for observed patterns in community structure, as well as in biomass development of organisms ranging in size from bacteria to fish.}},
  author       = {{Hansson, Lars-Anders and Brönmark, Christer and Nyström, Per and Lundberg, Per and Greenberg, Larry and Nilsson, Anders and Persson, Anders and Pettersson, Lars and Romare, Pia and Tranvik, Lars J.}},
  issn         = {{1471-2954}},
  keywords     = {{food chain; ratio-dependent; prey-dependent; enrichment; omnivory}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1399}},
  pages        = {{901--906}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}},
  title        = {{Consumption patterns, complexity and enrichment in aquatic food chains}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1998.0376}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rspb.1998.0376}},
  volume       = {{265}},
  year         = {{1998}},
}