Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2020
Linking consumer physiological status to food-web structure and prey food value in the Baltic Sea
Karlson, Agnes M. L.; Gorokhova, Elena; Gårdmark, Anna; Pekcan-Hekim, Zeynep; Casini, Michele; Albertsson, Jan; Sundelin, Brita; Karlsson, Olle; Bergstrom, LenaAbstract
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.Keywords
Benthic-pelagic coupling; Benthivore; Ecological indicator; Long-term time series; Piscivore; ZooplanktivorePublished in
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment2020, volume: 49, number: 2, pages: 391-406
Authors' information
Karlson, Agnes M. L.
Stockholm University
Gorokhova, Elena
Stockholm Univ
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources
Albertsson, Jan
Umea University
Sundelin, Brita
Stockholm Univ
Karlsson, Olle
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources
Associated SLU-program
Coastal and sea areas
UKÄ Subject classification
Ecology
Environmental Sciences
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01201-1
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103005