Individual specialization and the trophic niche of aquatic consumers

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Animals obtain their energy and nutrients from eating other organisms, and in turn, may themselves become food for other consumers. The study of these feeding relationships is called trophic ecology, and the network of feeding relationships in an ecosystem is called a food web. A species’ functional role in an ecosystem is called its niche, and is defined by the resources it uses, both habitat and food. The trophic niche is that part of the niche defining what the species eats. Positions and dimensions of trophic niches of species in an ecosystem, as well their abundances, define the ecosystem food web structure. This structure affects energy and material flows, and the quantity and quality of foods ultimately available to us. Research on the trophic niche helps us to understand food web structure, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes.