EcoDiet: A hierarchical Bayesian model to combine stomach, biotracer, and literature data into diet matrix estimation

Although quantifying trophic interactions is a critical path to understanding and forecasting ecosystem functioning, fitting trophic models to field data remains challenging. It requires flexible statistical tools to combine different sources of information from the literature and fieldwork samples. We present EcoDiet, a hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework to simultaneously estimate food-web topology and diet composition of all consumers in the food web, by combining (1) a priori knowledge from the literature on both food-web topology and diet proportions; (2) stomach content analyses, with frequencies of prey occurrence used as the primary source of data to update the prior knowledge on the topological food-web structure; (3) and biotracers data through a mixing model (MM). Inferences are derived in a Bayesian probabilistic rationale that provides a formal way to incorporate prior information and quantifies uncertainty around both the topological structure of the food web and the dietary proportions. EcoDiet was implemented as an open-source R package, providing a user-friendly interface to execute the model, as well as examples and guidelines to familiarize with its use. We used simulated data to demonstrate the benefits of EcoDiet and how the framework can improve inferences on diet matrix by comparison with classical network MM. We applied EcoDiet to the Celtic Sea ecosystem, and showed how combining multiple data types within an integrated approach provides a more robust and holistic picture of the food-web topology and diet matrices than the literature or classical MM approach alone. EcoDiet has the potential to become a reference method for building diet matrices as a preliminary step of ecosystem modeling and to improve our understanding of prey-predator interactions.

A bioenergetics approach to understanding sex differences in the foraging behaviour of a sexually monomorphic species

Many animals show sexually divergent foraging behaviours reflecting different physiological constraints or energetic needs. We used a bioenergetics approach to examine sex differences in foraging behaviour of the sexually monomorphic northern gannet. We derived a relationship between dynamic body acceleration and energy expenditure to quantify the energetic cost of prey capture attempts (plunge dives). Fourteen gannets were tracked using GPS, time depth recorders (TDR) and accelerometers. All plunge dives in a foraging trip represented less than 4% of total energy expenditure, with no significant sex differences in expenditure. Despite females undertaking significantly more dives than males, this low energetic cost resulted in no sex differences in overall energy expenditure across a foraging trip. Bayesian stable isotope mixing models based on blood samples highlighted sex differences in diet; however, calorific intake from successful prey capture was estimated to be similar between sexes. Females experienced 10.28% higher energy demands, primarily due to unequal chick provisioning. Estimates show a minimum of 19% of dives have to be successful for females to meet their daily energy requirements, and 26% for males. Our analyses suggest northern gannets show sex differences in foraging behaviour primarily related to dive rate and success rather than the energetic cost of foraging or energetic content of prey.

Estimating contributions of pelagic and benthic pathways to consumer production in coupled marine food webs

Pelagic and benthic systems usually interact, but their dynamics and production rates differ. Such differences influence the distribution, reproductive cycles, growth rates, stability and productivity of the consumers they support. Consumer preferences for, and dependence on, pelagic or benthic production are governed by the availability of these sources of production and consumer life history, distribution, habitat, behavioural ecology, ontogenetic stage and morphology. Diet studies may demonstrate the extent to which consumers feed on prey in pelagic or benthic environments. But they do not discriminate benthic production directly supported by phytoplankton from benthic production recycled through detrital pathways. The former will track the dynamics of phytoplankton production more closely than the latter. We develop and apply a new analytical method that uses carbon (C) and sulphur (S) natural abundance stable isotope data to assess the relative contribution of pelagic and benthic pathways to fish consumer production. For 13 species of fish that dominate community biomass in the northern North Sea (estimated >90% of total biomass), relative modal use of pelagic pathways ranged from <25% to >85%. Use of both C and S isotopes as opposed to just C reduced uncertainty in relative modal use estimates. Temporal comparisons of relative modal use of pelagic and benthic pathways revealed similar ranking of species dependency over 4 years, but annual variation in relative modal use within species was typically 10%-40%. For the total fish consumer biomass in the study region, the C and S method linked approximately 70% and 30% of biomass to pelagic and benthic pathways, respectively. As well as providing a new method to define consumers' links to pelagic and benthic pathways, our results demonstrate that a substantial proportion of fish biomass, and by inference production, in the northern North Sea is supported by production that has passed through transformations on the seabed.

Stable-isotope analysis reveals the importance of soft-bodied prey in the diet of lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula

This study examines the diet of lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula, one of the most ubiquitous predators of European coastal waters. This species is of increasing ecological significance as other large predatory fish decline as it has known interactions with fisheries. Scyliorhinus canicula diet was investigated in Irish coastal waters during June and July 2014 using both stomach-content analysis and δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N stable-isotope ratios. Prey contribution to the diet from dual stable-isotope data was estimated using Bayesian mixing models. It was found that only stable-isotope analysis provided a time-integrated picture of the diet of S. canicula and allowed for a new estimation of their trophic position. Trophic positions from stomach-content analysis within the present study and previous studies were found to be higher than revealed by isotopes. Stomach-content analysis could not reveal the importance of soft-bodied animals in the diet of these fish, however this approach remains a valuable tool to understand the potential prey spectrum in advance of isotope analysis and allows for a better resolution down to species level. The results highlight a greater variety in the diet of this important predator and the benefit of taking a multidisciplinary approach in dietary studies.

Lost in the North: The first record of Diretmichthys parini (Post and Quéro, 1981) in the northern North Sea

In June 2015, an individual of Diretmichthys parini (Post and Quero, 1981) was trawled at 530m depth, in the North Sea off Norway and donated to research. This capture, the first for this species in the North Sea was the northernmost recorded so far, and provided an opportunity to document some aspects of the biology and ecology of this data-poor species. This individual was a female, 331mm total length of 33years old, with low mercury content in muscle and liver (~0.2μgg^-1 wet mass). Stable isotope ratios (C and N) in muscle and liver were consistent with the planktonic diet expected for this species. The capture of this fish at the northern latitude known so far would be consistent with the extension of the home range and the latitudinal shift hypothesized for this species in the 1990's.