Trophic pyramids reorganize when food web architecture fails to adjust to ocean change

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dc.contributor.authorNagelkerken, I.
dc.contributor.authorGoldenberg, U.S.
dc.contributor.authorFerreira, C.M.
dc.contributor.authorUllah, M.H.
dc.contributor.authorConnell, S.D.
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractAs human activities intensify, the structures of ecosystems and their food webs often reorganize. Through the study of mesocosms harboring a diverse benthic coastal community, we reveal that food web architecture can be inflexible under ocean warming and acidification and unable to compensate for the decline or proliferation of taxa. Key stabilizing processes, including functional redundancy, trophic compensation, and species substitution, were largely absent under future climate conditions. A trophic pyramid emerged in which biomass expanded at the base and top but contracted in the center. This structure may characterize a transitionary state before collapse into shortened, bottom-heavy food webs that characterize ecosystems subject to persistent abiotic stress. We show that where food web architecture lacks adjustability, the adaptive capacity of ecosystems to global change is weak and ecosystem degradation likely.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityIvan Nagelkerken, Silvan U. Goldenberg, Camilo M. Ferreira, Hadayet Ullah, Sean D. Connell
dc.identifier.citationScience, 2020; 369(6505):829-832
dc.identifier.doi10.1126/science.aax0621
dc.identifier.issn0036-8075
dc.identifier.issn1095-9203
dc.identifier.orcidNagelkerken, I. [0000-0003-4499-3940]
dc.identifier.orcidUllah, M.H. [0000-0002-3034-8089]
dc.identifier.orcidConnell, S.D. [0000-0002-5350-6852]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/127538
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT120100183
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170101722
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT0991953
dc.rightsCopyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax0621
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectAcids
dc.subjectFood Chain
dc.subjectHydrogen-Ion Concentration
dc.subjectOceans and Seas
dc.subjectGlobal Warming
dc.titleTrophic pyramids reorganize when food web architecture fails to adjust to ocean change
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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