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Research Publications: UM-SG-RS-2013-07
Title:
Benthic-pelagic coupling in a temperate inner continental shelf fish assemblage.
Year:
2013Authors:
Woodland, RJ; Secor, DHSource:
Limnology and Oceanography 58 ( 3 ) : 966 - 976DOI:
10.4319/lo.2013.58.3.0966Abstract:
The hypothesis that demersal finfish production dependence on pelagic food webs decreased with seabed habitat affinity and fish size was tested using stable isotope and stomach contents data from 17 finfish species collected during summer months from the inner continental shelf of the U. S. mid-Atlantic coast. Trophic dependence on pelagic prey was generally lower among species with higher affinities for bottom habitats, but even species morphologically adapted for bottom feeding benefited from pelagic production via diel vertical migration of prey. There was a consistent pattern of declining reliance on pelagic food webs with increasing fish size, although the relationship between size and trophic sources varied among functional groups within the fish community. Overall, pelagic primary production during the summer was an important basal energy source for the demersal finfish community in this coastal ocean habitat (<= 20 m depth), particularly during juvenile life phases. These results suggest that these fish communities are sensitive to climate-related changes in contemporaneous pelagic primary production in addition to the timing and magnitude of spring phytoplankton blooms.
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
