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Contrasting energy pathways at the community level as a consequence of regime shifts

Xu, Jun ; Wen, Zhourui ; Ke, Zhixin ; Zhang, Meng ; Zhang, Min ; Guo, Nichun ; Hansson, Lars-Anders LU orcid and Xie, Ping (2014) In Oecologia 175(1). p.231-241
Abstract
Ecological regime shifts typically result in abrupt changes in ecosystem structure through several trophic levels, which leads to rapid ecosystem reconfiguration between regimes. An interesting aspect of the impact of regime shift is that alternative regimes may induce distinct shifts in energy pathways; these have been less tested than structural changes. This paper addresses this by using stable isotopes to establish the energy pathways in fish communities. We specifically focus on the impact of regime shift on changes of the energy pathways, and how the magnitude and direction of these changes affect the local community. We found that energy pathways significantly varied among the planktivorous, benthivorous, and piscivorous trophic... (More)
Ecological regime shifts typically result in abrupt changes in ecosystem structure through several trophic levels, which leads to rapid ecosystem reconfiguration between regimes. An interesting aspect of the impact of regime shift is that alternative regimes may induce distinct shifts in energy pathways; these have been less tested than structural changes. This paper addresses this by using stable isotopes to establish the energy pathways in fish communities. We specifically focus on the impact of regime shift on changes of the energy pathways, and how the magnitude and direction of these changes affect the local community. We found that energy pathways significantly varied among the planktivorous, benthivorous, and piscivorous trophic guilds as a result of the alternative regimes. The regime shift from a clear to a turbid state altered the food web towards planktonic energy pathways and truncated food chain length, which is indicative of less ecological efficiency. This was confirmed by the adaptive foraging strategies of prevalent omnivores in the current communities. These structural and functional characteristics of trophic interactions might not facilitate classic trophic cascading effects in such a turbid regime and suppress the system's response to environmental changes, e.g., nutrient loading, and restoration efforts in turbid to clear water regime shifts. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Energy pathways, Food web, Omnivory, Stable isotopes, Niche space
in
Oecologia
volume
175
issue
1
pages
231 - 241
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000334691600021
  • scopus:84901455889
  • pmid:24414311
ISSN
1432-1939
DOI
10.1007/s00442-013-2878-2
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ec43069b-207b-4ef9-9d13-2de6aafe069b (old id 4488260)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:22:24
date last changed
2022-01-28 00:18:38
@article{ec43069b-207b-4ef9-9d13-2de6aafe069b,
  abstract     = {{Ecological regime shifts typically result in abrupt changes in ecosystem structure through several trophic levels, which leads to rapid ecosystem reconfiguration between regimes. An interesting aspect of the impact of regime shift is that alternative regimes may induce distinct shifts in energy pathways; these have been less tested than structural changes. This paper addresses this by using stable isotopes to establish the energy pathways in fish communities. We specifically focus on the impact of regime shift on changes of the energy pathways, and how the magnitude and direction of these changes affect the local community. We found that energy pathways significantly varied among the planktivorous, benthivorous, and piscivorous trophic guilds as a result of the alternative regimes. The regime shift from a clear to a turbid state altered the food web towards planktonic energy pathways and truncated food chain length, which is indicative of less ecological efficiency. This was confirmed by the adaptive foraging strategies of prevalent omnivores in the current communities. These structural and functional characteristics of trophic interactions might not facilitate classic trophic cascading effects in such a turbid regime and suppress the system's response to environmental changes, e.g., nutrient loading, and restoration efforts in turbid to clear water regime shifts.}},
  author       = {{Xu, Jun and Wen, Zhourui and Ke, Zhixin and Zhang, Meng and Zhang, Min and Guo, Nichun and Hansson, Lars-Anders and Xie, Ping}},
  issn         = {{1432-1939}},
  keywords     = {{Energy pathways; Food web; Omnivory; Stable isotopes; Niche space}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{231--241}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Oecologia}},
  title        = {{Contrasting energy pathways at the community level as a consequence of regime shifts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2878-2}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00442-013-2878-2}},
  volume       = {{175}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}