Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes
Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production pattern...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000808 |
| _version_ | 1797895572515979264 |
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| author | Rémi Amiraux C.J. Mundy Marie Pierrejean Andrea Niemi Kevin J. Hedges Thomas A. Brown Jens K. Ehn Kyle H. Elliott Steven H. Ferguson Aaron T. Fisk Grant Gilchrist Les N. Harris Katrin Iken Kevin B. Jacobs Kelsey F. Johnson Z.A. Kuzyk Audrey Limoges Tracey N. Loewen Oliver P. Love Cory J.D. Matthews Wesley R. Ogloff Bruno Rosenberg Janne E. Søreide Cortney A. Watt David J. Yurkowski |
| author_facet | Rémi Amiraux C.J. Mundy Marie Pierrejean Andrea Niemi Kevin J. Hedges Thomas A. Brown Jens K. Ehn Kyle H. Elliott Steven H. Ferguson Aaron T. Fisk Grant Gilchrist Les N. Harris Katrin Iken Kevin B. Jacobs Kelsey F. Johnson Z.A. Kuzyk Audrey Limoges Tracey N. Loewen Oliver P. Love Cory J.D. Matthews Wesley R. Ogloff Bruno Rosenberg Janne E. Søreide Cortney A. Watt David J. Yurkowski |
| author_sort | Rémi Amiraux |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:29:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8654a3a95684440843afd5efecc4cf3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:29:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8654a3a95684440843afd5efecc4cf32023-02-24T04:29:48ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-03-01147109938Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopesRémi Amiraux0C.J. Mundy1Marie Pierrejean2Andrea Niemi3Kevin J. Hedges4Thomas A. Brown5Jens K. Ehn6Kyle H. Elliott7Steven H. Ferguson8Aaron T. Fisk9Grant Gilchrist10Les N. Harris11Katrin Iken12Kevin B. Jacobs13Kelsey F. Johnson14Z.A. Kuzyk15Audrey Limoges16Tracey N. Loewen17Oliver P. Love18Cory J.D. Matthews19Wesley R. Ogloff20Bruno Rosenberg21Janne E. Søreide22Cortney A. Watt23David J. Yurkowski24Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Corresponding author.Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Québec-Océan, Sentinel North and Takuvik, Biology Department, Laval University, Québec, Quebec, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaScottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UKCentre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaDepartment of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaSchool of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, CanadaScience and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaCollege of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USAArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaCentre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaDepartment of Arctic Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, NorwayArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaArctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaClimate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000808SubarcticHudson BaySouthampton IslandStable isotopesHBIsCarbon flux |
| spellingShingle | Rémi Amiraux C.J. Mundy Marie Pierrejean Andrea Niemi Kevin J. Hedges Thomas A. Brown Jens K. Ehn Kyle H. Elliott Steven H. Ferguson Aaron T. Fisk Grant Gilchrist Les N. Harris Katrin Iken Kevin B. Jacobs Kelsey F. Johnson Z.A. Kuzyk Audrey Limoges Tracey N. Loewen Oliver P. Love Cory J.D. Matthews Wesley R. Ogloff Bruno Rosenberg Janne E. Søreide Cortney A. Watt David J. Yurkowski Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes Ecological Indicators Subarctic Hudson Bay Southampton Island Stable isotopes HBIs Carbon flux |
| title | Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| title_full | Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| title_fullStr | Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| title_short | Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| title_sort | tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes |
| topic | Subarctic Hudson Bay Southampton Island Stable isotopes HBIs Carbon flux |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000808 |
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