Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
10:20
Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
Published on: March 12, 2013
13.7K
Cascading effects from predator removal depend on resource availability in a benthic food web
Katrin Sieben1, Anneke D Rippen1, Britas Klemens Eriksson1
1Department of Marine Benthic Ecology and Evolution, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands.
Marine Biology
|January 7, 2014
Summary
Top predator loss can alter herbivore communities, but cascading effects on producers depend on nutrient availability. This study reveals complex trophic interactions in Baltic Sea food webs.
Area of Science:
- Marine Ecology
- Food Web Dynamics
- Ecosystem Resilience
Background:
- Top-down control by predators is crucial for structuring ecological communities.
- Resource availability can modulate the strength and outcome of trophic cascades.
- Understanding these interactions is vital for managing coastal ecosystems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the combined effects of predator loss and nutrient enrichment on a benthic food web.
- To determine how these factors influence trophic interactions and producer biomass.
- To elucidate the role of mesopredators in mediating these effects.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of predator exclusion (cages) and nutrient levels in the Baltic Sea.
- Assessment of changes in fish, invertebrate herbivore, and producer communities.
- Quantification of shifts in species composition and abundance.
Main Results:
- Predator loss and nutrient enrichment led to an increase in mesopredators (three-spined stickleback).
- Mesopredators shifted herbivore composition from amphipods to gastropods, without altering total abundance.
- A 23-fold increase in producer biomass occurred, but only under nutrient enrichment.
Conclusions:
- Top-predator decline significantly alters grazer community structure.
- Trophic cascades impacting producers are strongly contingent on resource availability.
- Ecosystem responses to predator loss are complex and context-dependent.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Population Growth
23.2K
Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
23.2K
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
17.2K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
17.2K
01:28Microbial Interactions: Predation
65
Microbial predation refers to the process by which one microorganism kills and consumes another to obtain nutrients and energy. It encompasses both bacterial and protozoan predators. This interaction plays a crucial role in shaping microbial communities and regulating nutrient cycling.Bacterial Predators: Epibiotic vs. EndobioticBacterial predators are classified based on their mode of attack as either epibiotic or endobiotic. Epibiotic predators, such as Vampirococcus, attach to the surface of...
65
01:39Keystone Species
20.9K
Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a...
20.9K
00:48Optimal Foraging
11.8K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
11.8K
01:35Trophic Levels
28.7K
All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.
28.7K