Linking consumer physiological status to food-web structure and prey food value in the Baltic SeaShow others and affiliations
Number of Authors: 92020 (English)In: Ambio, ISSN 0044-7447, E-ISSN 1654-7209, Vol. 49, no 2, p. 391-406Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Declining physiological status in marine top consumers has been observed worldwide. We investigate changes in the physiological status and population/community traits of six consumer species/groups in the Baltic Sea (1993-2014), spanning four trophic levels and using metrics currently operational or proposed as indicators of food-web status. We ask whether the physiological status of consumers can be explained by food-web structure and prey food value. This was tested using partial least square regressions with status metrics for gray seal, cod, herring, sprat and the benthic predatory isopod Saduria as response variables, and abundance and food value of their prey, abundance of competitors and predators as predictors. We find evidence that the physiological status of cod, herring and sprat is influenced by competition, predation, and prey availability; herring and sprat status also by prey size. Our study highlights the need for management approaches that account for species interactions across multiple trophic levels.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020. Vol. 49, no 2, p. 391-406
Keywords [en]
Benthic-pelagic coupling, Benthivore, Ecological indicator, Long-term time series, Piscivore, Zooplanktivore
National Category
Environmental Engineering Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-179533DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01201-1ISI: 000512058200002PubMedID: 31168701OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-179533DiVA, id: diva2:1412605
2020-03-062020-03-062025-01-31Bibliographically approved