Search results for "Trophic level"
showing 10 items of 324 documents
Changes in fish mercury concentrations over 20 years in an acidified lake subject to experimental liming
2007
Abstract Lake Iso Valkjarvi (southern Finland, Europe) was divided in two with a plastic curtain in 1991. One half was neutralized with CaCO 3 , and the other acted as a control. Mercury concentrations of perch ( Perca fluviatilis ) and northern pike ( Esox lucius ) in the limed and control side of the lake were studied both before and after the treatment. Average Hg concentrations of perch and pike were 0.40 and 1.2 μg g −1 (ww) in the early 1980s and 0.25 and 0.72 μg g −1 (ww) a decade later at the time of liming. Ten years after the liming the Hg concentrations of perch in the limed and control sides of the lake were 0.21 and 0.28 μg g −1 (ww) and those of pike were 0.69 and 0.43 μg g −1…
Concentrations of Organochlorine Substances in Relation to Fish Size and Trophic Position: A Study on Perch (Perca fluviatilis L.)
2000
The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of trophic position as a determinant of the concentrations of organochlorine substances (OCS) in fish. Perch (Perca fluvatilis) was selected since the species increases in trophic level over the course of its lifetime. The trophic position was characterized by stable isotope analysis of nitrogen and gut content. Perch (130 individuals) of different lengths and of both sexes were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides. There were no pronounced differences in the OCS concentrations between the perch sexes. Perch up to a length of 20 cm did not show any increase in OCS concentrations with increased length, despite …
Aquatic ecotoxicology: On the problems of extrapolation from laboratory experiments with individuals and populations to community effects in the field
1991
Abstract 1. 1. Ecotoxicology is defined as the study of the effect of toxicants on structure and function of ecosystems. 2. 2. Properties of individuals and populations in laboratory experiments differ from those in the field with respect to distribution in space and time as well as to genetic structure. 3. 3. Studies of community response can only be extrapolated to other systems if they include the analysis of the causal chain. 4. 4. Causal explanations require a system analysis at different trophic levels as well as a modelling of the system and an analysis of sensitivity. 5. 5. A research project is presented which covers most of the suggested problems.
Host manipulation revisited: no evidence for a causal link between altered photophobia and increased trophic transmission of amphipods infected with …
2012
Summary 1.Many parasites with complex life cycles critically rely on trophic transmission to pass from an intermediate host to a final host. Parasite-induced behavioural alterations in intermediate hosts are often supposed to be adaptive through increasing the susceptibility of intermediate hosts to predation by final hosts. However, the evidence is so far only correlational, and direct evidence for a causal link between one single behavioural alteration and increased trophic transmission is still missing. 2.Here, we addressed, for the first time, the relationship between increased vulnerability to fish predation and altered photophobia in an amphipod, Gammarus pulex, infected with a fish a…
Equilibrium/steady-state concept in phytoplankton ecology
2003
This paper summarises the outcomes of the 13th Workshop of the International Association of Phytoplankton Taxonomy and Ecology (IAP). The authors mostly addressed their contributions on the following topics: the effect of trophic state on the attainment of a steady-state; the establishment of equilibria in deep and shallow lakes; the role of spatial heterogeneity, disturbance, and stress in the establishment of equilibrium assemblages; the mechanisms leading to the steady state; the frequency and longevity of equilibrium phases, and the role of morphological and physiological plasticity of phytoplankton in maintaining the (apparently) same populations under different environmental condition…
Assessing anthropogenic pressures on coastal marine ecosystems using stable CNS isotopes: State of the art, knowledge gaps, and community-scale persp…
2015
Abstract In recent decades, the analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes (SIA) has emerged as a powerful, viable methodology for examining food web structure and dynamics, as well as addressing a number of applied issues. Here, we provide a state-of-the-art review of the use of SIA for assessing anthropogenic pressures on natural ecosystems, in order to establish current knowledge gaps and identify promising applications for evaluating the ecological status of marine coastal waters. Specifically, the potential of SIA to provide food web-scale indicators for estimating cumulative anthropogenic pressures is addressed. The review indicates that the methodology has been used for …
Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms.
2007
7 pages; International audience; Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540-520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cam…
Isotopic Niche and Trophic Position of the Invasive Portunid Portunus segnis Forskål, (1775) in Elounda Bay (Crete Island, Eastern Mediterranean)
2022
There is a growing recognition that an advanced understanding of the trophic characteristics of an invasive consumer can provide important information on its ecological impact. In recent years, the blue swimming crab Portunus segnis, one of the earliest Lessepsian invaders, has considerably expanded its distribution range in the Mediterranean Sea, yet, its trophic habits in invaded areas remain scarcely investigated. In this study, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analysis (SIA) to determine the trophic position and isotopic niche of the crab compared with other representatives of the flora and fauna occurring in Elounda Bay (Crete). P. segnis showed a trophic position of 3.9, hi…
Aquatic invertebrate assemblages in ponds from coastal Mediterranean wetlands
2014
Invertebrate aquatic assemblages in ponds from Mediterranean wetlands are composed of organisms belonging to different taxonomic groups, which present a wide range of sizes (from small rotifers to large crustaceans or insects). Although they are often sampled and analyzed separately, the ecological links among these organisms should be considered, especially in very shallow waters. In our study, invertebrate assemblages (including micro-, macrozooplankton and macroinvertebrates) were characterized in eight shal- low lakes from Mediterranean wetlands in Southeastern Spain. A great spatial and temporal variability in the assemblages and in some environmental features was observed. The communi…
Trophic structure of vermetid reef community: High trophic diversity at small spatial scales
2013
Stable isotopes were used to investigate contributions of autochthonous (i.e. benthic: epilithon and macroalgae) and allochthonous (i.e. pelagic: phytoplankton) organic matter sources to the diet of suspension-feeders, grazers and predators associated to small reef-pools (cuvettes) created by the reef-building species Dendropoma petraeum in the north-western coast of Sicily (Italy). Contributions of potential food sources were calculated using Bayesian mixing-models and integrated to a multivariate approach to highlight the diversity of C and N pathways within Dendropoma cuvettes. Both pelagic and benthic organic matter sources were exploited by benthic consumers, although clear differences…