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Trophic overlap between expanding and contracting fish predators in a range margin undergoing change.
Mats Westerbom1, Antti Lappalainen2, Olli Mustonen3
1Tvärminne Zoological Station, J. A. Palménintie 260, 10900, Hanko, Finland. mats.westerbom@helsinki.fi.
Scientific Reports
|May 23, 2018
Summary
Climate change impacts Baltic Sea ecosystems. Freshwater roach and marine flounders heavily rely on blue mussels, leading to high trophic overlap and potential competition, especially as roach expand their range.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Ecology
- Climate change impacts
Background:
- Baltic Sea freshening due to climate change favors freshwater species.
- Marine flounders (Platichthys flesus) and freshwater roach (Rutilus rutilus) are key consumers in the Baltic sublittoral.
- Understanding their interactions is crucial for predicting population dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore predator functional responses and trophic overlap between flounders and roach.
- To investigate resource use along a declining blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus) gradient.
- To understand density-dependent prey acquisition in a changing environment.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of resource use patterns.
- Assessment of diets and prey size preferences.
- Evaluation of trophic overlap across varying blue mussel abundance.
Main Results:
- Both flounders and roach exhibit specialized diets, heavily relying on blue mussels.
- High trophic overlap was observed between the two species, irrespective of mussel abundance.
- Similar prey size preferences were noted for both predators.
Conclusions:
- Blue mussels are a critical food source for both flounders and roach, supporting roach population growth and range expansion.
- Roach range expansion may exert a distinct top-down pressure on mussel populations compared to flounders.
- The findings underscore the importance of blue mussels in structuring Baltic Sea food webs.
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