Resource utilization of puffer fish in a subtropical bay as revealed by stable isotope analysis and food web modeling

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F19%3A00509649" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/19:00509649 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v626/p161-175/" target="_blank" >https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v626/p161-175/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13045" target="_blank" >10.3354/meps13045</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Resource utilization of puffer fish in a subtropical bay as revealed by stable isotope analysis and food web modeling

Original language description

Estuaries often comprise a habitat mosaic, the connectivity of which depends in part on mobile organisms that move in between habitats for feeding and breeding. We assessed resource utilization by 2 co-existing puffer fish species, Sphoeroides testudineus and Sphoeroides greeleyi, in mangroves, saltmarshes and shallow subtidal channels of a subtropical bay. We hypothesized that puffer fish migrate into mangroves mainly to feed and that the coexistence of the 2 species may be explained by differences in resource utilization and/or by a differential preference for different foraging grounds. We combined a stable isotope approach with an Ecopath model that contrasted detritus-driven and herbivory-driven foodweb scenarios. The most parsimonious foodweb scenario involved the feeding of puffer fish on benthic invertebrates associated with Spartina marshes. This emphasizes the importance of saltmarshes as feeding grounds for both puffer fish species, independently of where they were sampled. Small differences in isotopic signatures between S. greeleyi and S. testudineus indicated major resource overlap, but also some degree of food partitioning probably through the selection of differently sized prey. The smaller S. greeleyi consistently had a slightly higher trophic level than the larger S. testudineus. S. testudineus had larger isotopic niche sizes as a consequence of greater inter-individual variation in resource use. Our results emphasize the importance of considering multiple habitats and foodweb scenarios when investigating resource use and species interactions in estuarine ecosystems.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Marine Ecology-Progress Series

ISSN

0171-8630

e-ISSN

1616-1599

Volume of the periodical

626

Issue of the periodical within the volume

SEP

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

15

Pages from-to

161-175

UT code for WoS article

000485739800013

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85072193027