Use of size-based production and stable isotope analyses to predict trophic transfer efficiencies and predator-prey body mass ratios in food webs
Use of size-based production and stable isotope analyses to predict trophic transfer efficiencies and predator-prey body mass ratios in food webs
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DOI：
10.3354/meps240011
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发表时间：
2002-01-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Mackinson, S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jennings, S;Warr, KJ;Mackinson, S
需要有评估食物网结构和功能的方法，以便为评估人类活动对海洋生态系统的大规模直接（如渔业）和间接（如气候变化）影响提供依据。我们提出了一个简单的合成的复杂结构和功能的真实的海洋食物网，基于体型分布，生产体型的关系和营养级体型的关系的分析。我们展示了如何基于大小的估计生产，物种丰富度和营养水平（从氮稳定同位素分析）可以用来量化营养转移效率，平均捕食者-猎物的身体质量比和捕食者的数量的平均比例，猎物物种在海洋食物网。我们将这些方法应用于北海中部，并估计转移效率为3.7至12.4%，平均捕食者-猎物体重比为109：1，捕食者与猎物物种数量的平均比率为0.34。我们进行了敏感性分析，以显示δ（15）N分馏的差异以及产量与δ（15）N之间关系的斜率变化如何影响我们的预测。我们的估计传输效率和平均捕食者-猎物的身体质量比是类似的昂贵和劳动密集型的饮食和生态系统建模研究所获得的。对规模和营养结构的耦合分析可为验证生态系统模型和评估人类对海洋生态系统的影响提供一种方法。
Methods of assessing the structure and function of food webs are needed to provide a basis for assessing large-scale direct (e.g. fisheries) and indirect (e.g. climate change) effects of human activities on marine ecosystems. We present a simple synthesis of the complex structure and function of a real marine food web, based on analyses of body size distributions, production-body size relationships and trophic level-body size relationships. We show how size-based estimates of production, species richness and trophic level (from nitrogen stable isotope analysis) can be used to quantify trophic transfer efficiency, mean predator-prey body-mass ratios and the mean ratio of the number of predator to prey species in marine food webs. We applied these methods to the central North Sea, and estimated transfer efficiencies of 3.7 to 12.4%, a mean predator-prey body-mass ratio of 109:1 and a mean ratio of the number of predator to prey species of 0.34. We conducted sensitivity analyses to show how differences in the fractionation of delta(15)N and changes in the slope of the relationship between production and delta(15)N affected our predictions. Our estimates of transfer efficiency and mean predator-prey body-mass ratios are similar to those obtained by costly and labour-intensive diet- and ecosystem-modelling studies. Coupled analyses of size and trophic structure may provide a method for validating ecosystem models and assessing human impacts on marine ecosystems.