Byström, Pär
- Department of Aquaculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Trophic cascades have been a central paradigm in explaining the structure of ecological communities but have been demonstrated mainly through comparative studies or experimental manipulations. In contrast, evidence for shifts in trophic cascades caused by intrinsically driven population dynamics is meager. By using empirical data of a cannibalistic fish population covering a 10-year period and a size-structured population model, we show the occurrence of a dynamic trophic cascade in a lake ecosystem, in which the community overtime alternates between two different configurations. The intrinsically driven change in the size structure of the fish population from a dominance of stunted individuals to a dominance of gigantic cannibals among adult individuals is the driving force behind distinct abundance switches observed in zooplankton and phytoplankton. The presence of the phase with gigantic cannibals depends critically on the energy they extract from their victims, allowing strong reproduction for a number of years.
Published in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2003, volume: 100, number: 7, pages: 4035-4039
Publisher: NATL ACAD SCIENCES
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Fish and Aquacultural Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0636404100
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/118