Stable isotope analysis of production and trophic relationships in a tropical marine hard-bottom community Article

Behringer, DC, Butler, MJ. (2006). Stable isotope analysis of production and trophic relationships in a tropical marine hard-bottom community . OECOLOGIA, 148(2), 334-341. 10.1007/s00442-006-0360-0

cited authors

  • Behringer, DC; Butler, MJ

authors

abstract

  • Seagrasses produce much of the organic carbon in the shallow waters of the Caribbean and it has long been assumed that a substantial portion of this carbon is exported to nearby habitats, contributing substantially to their food webs. In the shallow coastal waters of the Florida Keys (USA), seagrass intersperses with hard-bottom habitat where bushy, red macroalgae are the most prominent primary producers. However, the relative importance of seagrass-derived carbon versus autochthonous algal production or phytoplankton in supporting higher trophic levels within hard-bottom communities has never been investigated. We compared the carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of potential primary producers and representative higher trophic level taxa from hard-bottom sites on the bay-side and ocean-side of the Florida Keys. We also included in our study a set of bay-side sites that experienced significant ecological disturbances over the past decade (e.g., cyanobacteria blooms, seagrass die-off, and sponge die-offs) that may have altered trophic relationships in those regions. We did not detect any differences among regions in the trophic status of hard-bottom taxa that might be associated with ecosystem disturbance. However, our results suggest that autochthonous production of algal detritus is an important source of secondary production in these hard-bottom communities, with seagrass and phytoplankton contributing smaller fractions. © Springer-Verlag 2006.

publication date

  • January 1, 2006

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 334

end page

  • 341

volume

  • 148

issue

  • 2