Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2025
07:16
Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block
Published on: November 18, 2022
1.3K
Multi-Trophic Level Responses to Marine Heatwave Disturbances in the California Current Ecosystem.
Tz-Chian Chen1, Mati Kahru2, Michael R Landry2
1Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Ecology Letters
|December 31, 2024
Summary
Marine heatwaves impact ocean ecosystems. Phytoplankton declined with heatwave intensity, while zooplankton responded to duration, showing varied trophic level effects.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Oceanography
- Ecology
Background:
- Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are increasingly frequent disturbances affecting ocean ecosystems.
- Understanding MHW impacts on different trophic levels is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of marine heatwaves on pelagic communities in the Southern California Current Ecosystem.
- To determine how MHW characteristics (intensity and duration) influence various trophic levels.
Main Methods:
- Utilized spatially resolved time-series data for multiple trophic levels.
- Analyzed relationships between MHW characteristics and indices of phytoplankton, mesozooplankton, and forage fish.
Main Results:
- Phytoplankton biomass generally declined with MHW intensity, except for Prochlorococcus.
- Mesozooplankton abundance correlated more with MHW duration than intensity, with positive links to diatom biomass.
- Forage fish responses were complex; fish egg abundance declined during MHWs but showed no correlation with MHW characteristics.
Conclusions:
- MHW characteristics differentially affect marine pelagic communities based on trophic level.
- Ecological responses to MHWs are shaped by the varying life spans and behaviors of organisms across trophic levels.
Related Concept Videos
01:35Trophic Levels
30.3K
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.
30.3K
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
13.2K
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
13.2K
00:46Trophic Efficiency
20.1K
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
20.1K
02:26Ecological Disturbance
16.8K
An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.
16.8K
01:50Global Climate Change
23.9K
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
23.9K
01:06Primary Production
23.4K
The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
23.4K