Prey size diversity hinders biomass trophic transfer and predator size diversity promotes it in Planktonic Communities
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Journal Volume
283
Journal Issue
1824
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Carmen Garcia-Comas
Akash R Sastri
Lin Ye
Chun-Yi Chang
Fan-Sian Lin
Min-Sian Su
Gwo-Ching Gong
Abstract
Body size exerts multiple effects on plankton food-web interactions. However, the influence of size structure on trophic transfer remains poorly quantified in the field. Here, we examine how the size diversity of prey (nano-microplankton) and predators (mesozooplankton) influence trophic transfer efficiency (using biomass ratio as a proxy) in natural marine ecosystems. Our results support previous studies on single trophic levels: transfer efficiency decreases with increasing prey size diversity and is enhanced with greater predator size diversity. We further show that communities with low nano-microplankton size diversity and high mesozooplankton size diversity tend to occur in warmer environments with low nutrient concentrations, thus promoting trophic transfer to higher trophic levels in those conditions. Moreover, we reveal an interactive effect of predator and prey size diversities: the positive effect of predator size diversity becomes influential when prey size diversity is high. Mechanistically, the negative effect of prey size diversity on trophic transfer may be explained by unicellular size-based metabolic constraints as well as trade-offs between growth and predation avoidance with size, whereas increasing predator size diversity may enhance diet niche partitioning and thus promote trophic transfer. These findings provide insights into size-based theories of ecosystem functioning, with implications for ecosystem predictive models. © 2016 The Authors.
Subjects
Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning; Body size; Functional diversity; Predator–prey dynamics; Size diversity; Trophic transfer efficiency
Other Subjects
concentration (composition); ecosystem function; food web; functional response; marine ecosystem; niche partitioning; plankton; predation risk; predator; prey size; size structure; species diversity; trophic level; biomass; food chain; Pacific Ocean; physiology; plankton; Taiwan; Biomass; Food Chain; Pacific Ocean; Plankton; Taiwan
Type
journal article