1
|
Arnoldi JF, Bortoluzzi JR, Rowland H, Harrod C, Parnell AC, Payne N, Donohue I, Jackson AL. How strongly does diet variation explain variation in isotope values of animal consumers? PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301900. [PMID: 38935686 PMCID: PMC11210776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Analysis of stable isotopes in consumers is used commonly to study their ecological and/or environmental niche. There is, however, considerable debate regarding how isotopic values relate to diet and how other sources of variation confound this link, which can undermine the utility. From the analysis of a simple, but general, model of isotopic incorporation in consumer organisms, we examine the relationship between isotopic variance among individuals, and diet variability within a consumer population. We show that variance in consumer isotope values is directly proportional to variation in diet (through Simpson indices), to the number of isotopically distinct food sources in the diet, and to the baseline variation within and among the isotope values of the food sources. Additionally, when considering temporal diet variation within a consumer we identify the interplay between diet turnover rates and tissue turnover rates that controls the sensitivity of stable isotopes to detect diet variation. Our work demonstrates that variation in the stable isotope values of consumers reflect variation in their diet. This relationship, however, can be confounded with other factors to the extent that they may mask the signal coming from diet. We show how simple quantitative corrections can recover a direct 1:1 correlation in some situations, and in others we can adjust our interpretation in light of the new understanding arising from our models. Our framework provides guidance for the design and analysis of empirical studies where the goal is to infer niche width from stable isotope data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jenny Rose Bortoluzzi
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Chris Harrod
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
- Instituto Antofagasta, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus of Austral Invasive Salmonids (INVASAL), Concepciòn, Chile
| | - Andrew C. Parnell
- Insight Centre for Data Analytics, Hamilton Institute, Maynooth University, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Nicholas Payne
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ian Donohue
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Andrew L. Jackson
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Giraldo C, Cresson P, MacKenzie K, Fontaine V, Loots C, Delegrange A, Lefebvre S. Insights into planktonic food-web dynamics through the lens of size and season. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1684. [PMID: 38243111 PMCID: PMC10798955 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52256-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of the trophic structure and variability of planktonic communities is a key factor in understanding food-web dynamics and energy transfer from zooplankton to higher trophic levels. In this study, we investigated how stable isotopes of mesozooplankton species varied seasonally (winter, spring, autumn) in relation to environmental factors and plankton size classes in a temperate coastal ecosystem. Our results showed that spring is characterized by the strongest vertical and size-structured plankton food-web, mainly fueled by the phytoplankton bloom. As a result, spring displayed the largest isotopic niche space and trophic divergence among species. On the contrary, both pelagic and benthic-derived carbon influenced low productive seasons (winter and autumn), resulting in more generalist strategies (trophic redundancy). Stable isotope mixing models were used to explore how different seasonal structures influenced the overall food web up to predatory plankton (i.e., mysids, chaetognaths, and fish larvae). Different feeding strategies were found in spring, with predators having either a clear preference for larger prey items (> 1 mm, for herring and dab larvae) or a more generalist diet (sprat and dragonets larvae). During low productive seasons, predators seemed to be more opportunistic, feeding on a wide range of size classes but focusing on smaller prey. Overall, the food-web architecture of plankton displayed different seasonal patterns linked to components at the base of the food web that shaped the main energy fluxes, either from phytoplankton or recycled material. Additionally, these patterns extended to carnivorous plankton, such as fish larvae, emphasizing the importance of bottom-up processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Giraldo
- IFREMER, HMMN - Unité halieutique Manche-Mer du Nord, 62200, Boulogne sur mer, France.
| | - Pierre Cresson
- IFREMER, HMMN - Unité halieutique Manche-Mer du Nord, 62200, Boulogne sur mer, France
| | - Kirsteen MacKenzie
- IFREMER, HMMN - Unité halieutique Manche-Mer du Nord, 62200, Boulogne sur mer, France
| | - Virginie Fontaine
- IFREMER, HMMN - Unité halieutique Manche-Mer du Nord, 62200, Boulogne sur mer, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Christophe Loots
- IFREMER, HMMN - Unité halieutique Manche-Mer du Nord, 62200, Boulogne sur mer, France
| | - Alice Delegrange
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Sébastien Lefebvre
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 59000, Lille, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhou S, Fu M, Ling S, Qiao Z, Luo K, Peng C, Zhang W, Lei J, Zhou B. Legacy and novel brominated flame retardants in a lab-constructed freshwater ecosystem: Distribution, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 242:120176. [PMID: 37301001 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The extensive utilization of both legacy and novel brominated flame retardants (BFRs) leads to high environmental concentrations, which would be bioaccumulated by organisms and further transferred through the food webs, causing potential risks to humans. In this study, five BFRs, that showed high detection frequencies and concentrations in sediments from an e-waste dismantling site in Southern China, namely 2,3,4,5,6-pentabromotoluene (PBT), hexabromobenzene (HBB), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209), were selected as target pollutants in the lab-constructed aquatic food web as part of a micro-ecosystem, to investigate their distribution, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer patterns. The significant correlations between different samples in the food web indicated that the dietary uptake appeared to influence the levels of BFRs in organisms. Significant negative correlations were observed between the trophic level of organisms and the lipid-normalized concentrations of BTBPE and DBDPE, indicating the occurrence of trophic dilution after 5-month exposure. However, the average values of bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were from 2.49 to 5.17 L/kg, underscoring the importance of continued concern for environmental risks of BFRs. The organisms occupying higher trophic levels with greater bioaccumulation capacities may play a pivotal role in determining the trophic magnification potentials of BFRs. This research provides a helpful reference for studying the impacts of feeding habits on bioaccumulation and biomagnification, as well as for identifying the fate of BFRs in aquatic environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shanqi Zhou
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Mengru Fu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Siyuan Ling
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Zhihua Qiao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Kailun Luo
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Cheng Peng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
| | - Juying Lei
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Bingsheng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
| |
Collapse
|