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Marine ecosystem connectivity mediated by migrant–resident interactions and the concomitant cross-system flux of lipids

van Deurs, Mikael LU ; Persson, Anders LU ; Lindegren, Martin ; Jacobsen, Charlotte ; Neuenfeldt, Stefan ; Jørgensen, Christian and Nilsson, Anders LU orcid (2016) In Ecology and Evolution 6(12). p.4076-4087
Abstract

Accumulating research argues that migrants influence the functioning and productivity of local habitats and ecosystems along migration routes and potentially drive cross-system energy fluxes of considerable magnitude, yet empirical documentation of local ecological effects and descriptions of the underlying mechanisms are surprisingly rare. In this study, we discovered migrant–resident interactions and substantial cross-system lipid transportation in the transition zone between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea where a resident cod population (predators) was found to interact with a herring population (prey) on a seasonal basis. We traced the lipids, using fatty acid trophic markers (FATM), from the herring feeding grounds in the North... (More)

Accumulating research argues that migrants influence the functioning and productivity of local habitats and ecosystems along migration routes and potentially drive cross-system energy fluxes of considerable magnitude, yet empirical documentation of local ecological effects and descriptions of the underlying mechanisms are surprisingly rare. In this study, we discovered migrant–resident interactions and substantial cross-system lipid transportation in the transition zone between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea where a resident cod population (predators) was found to interact with a herring population (prey) on a seasonal basis. We traced the lipids, using fatty acid trophic markers (FATM), from the herring feeding grounds in the North Sea to the cod livers in the Western Baltic Sea. Time series analysis of population dynamics indicated that population-level production of cod is positively affected by the herring subsidies. However, the underlying mechanisms were more complicated than anticipated. During the herring season, large cod received most of its dietary lipids from the herring, whereas smaller cod were prevented from accessing the lipid pool due to a mismatch in predator–prey size ratio. Furthermore, while the herring were extremely rich in bulk energy, they were surprisingly poor in a specific functional fatty acid. Hence, our study was the first to illustrate how the magnitude cross-system fluxes of subsidies in migrant–resident systems are potentially constrained by the size structure of the resident predator population and the nutritional quality of the migrants.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Arachidonic acid, Baltic Sea, Clupea harengus, dietary fatty acids, FATM, food quality, Gadus morhua, meta-ecosystem, migration, nutritional quality, predator–prey interactions, resource subsidies, trophic tracers
in
Ecology and Evolution
volume
6
issue
12
pages
12 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:84970989987
  • pmid:27516865
  • wos:000379342900019
ISSN
2045-7758
DOI
10.1002/ece3.2167
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9d9c661a-88eb-4aee-869e-12ee691bda90
date added to LUP
2017-01-26 09:51:07
date last changed
2024-01-04 21:34:53
@article{9d9c661a-88eb-4aee-869e-12ee691bda90,
  abstract     = {{<p>Accumulating research argues that migrants influence the functioning and productivity of local habitats and ecosystems along migration routes and potentially drive cross-system energy fluxes of considerable magnitude, yet empirical documentation of local ecological effects and descriptions of the underlying mechanisms are surprisingly rare. In this study, we discovered migrant–resident interactions and substantial cross-system lipid transportation in the transition zone between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea where a resident cod population (predators) was found to interact with a herring population (prey) on a seasonal basis. We traced the lipids, using fatty acid trophic markers (FATM), from the herring feeding grounds in the North Sea to the cod livers in the Western Baltic Sea. Time series analysis of population dynamics indicated that population-level production of cod is positively affected by the herring subsidies. However, the underlying mechanisms were more complicated than anticipated. During the herring season, large cod received most of its dietary lipids from the herring, whereas smaller cod were prevented from accessing the lipid pool due to a mismatch in predator–prey size ratio. Furthermore, while the herring were extremely rich in bulk energy, they were surprisingly poor in a specific functional fatty acid. Hence, our study was the first to illustrate how the magnitude cross-system fluxes of subsidies in migrant–resident systems are potentially constrained by the size structure of the resident predator population and the nutritional quality of the migrants.</p>}},
  author       = {{van Deurs, Mikael and Persson, Anders and Lindegren, Martin and Jacobsen, Charlotte and Neuenfeldt, Stefan and Jørgensen, Christian and Nilsson, Anders}},
  issn         = {{2045-7758}},
  keywords     = {{Arachidonic acid; Baltic Sea; Clupea harengus; dietary fatty acids; FATM; food quality; Gadus morhua; meta-ecosystem; migration; nutritional quality; predator–prey interactions; resource subsidies; trophic tracers}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{4076--4087}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Marine ecosystem connectivity mediated by migrant–resident interactions and the concomitant cross-system flux of lipids}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2167}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ece3.2167}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}