Climate drives the geography of marine consumption by changing predator communities

Whalan, Mathew A., Whippo, Ross D.B., Stachowicz, John J., York, Paul H., Aiello, Erin, Alcoverro, Teresa, Altieri, Andrew H., Bertolini, Camilla, Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro, Bresch, Midoli, Bulleri, Fabio, Carnell, Paul E., Cimon, Stéphanie, Connolly, Rod M., Cusson, Mathieu, Diskin, Meredith S., D'Souza, Elrika, Flores, Augusto A.V., Fodrie, F. Joel, Galloway, Aaron W.E., Gaskins, Leo C., Graham, Olivia J., Hanley, Torrance C., Henderson, Christopher J., Hereu, Clara M., Hessing-Lewis, Margot, Hovel, Kevin A., Hughes, Brent B., Hughes, A. Randall, Hultgren, Kristin M., Jänes, Holger, Janiak, Dean S., Johnston, Lane N., Jorgensen, Pablo, Kelaher, Brendan P., Kruschel, Claudia, Lanham, Brendan S., Lee, Kun-Seop, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Lozano-Álvarez, Enrique, Macreadie, Peter I., Monteith, Zachary L., O'Connor, Nessa E., Olds, Andrew D., O'Leary, Jennifer K., Patrick, Christopher J., Pino, Oscar, Poore, Alistair G.B., Rasheed, Michael A., Raymond, Wendel W., Reiss, Katrin, Rhoades, O. Kennedy, Robinson, Max T., Ross, Paige G., Rossi, Francesca, Schlacher, Thomas A., Seemann, Janina, Silliman, Brian R., Smee, Delbert L., Thiel, Martin, Unsworth, Richard K.F., van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I., Vergés, Adriana, Yeager, Mallarie E., Yednock, Bree K., Ziegler, Shelby L., and Duffy, J. Emmett (2020) Climate drives the geography of marine consumption by changing predator communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 (45). pp. 28160-28166.

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Abstract

The global distribution of primary production and consumption by humans (fisheries) are well-documented, but we have no map linking the central ecological process of consumption within food webs to temperature and other ecological drivers. Using standardized assays that span 105 degrees of latitude on 4 continents, we show that rates of bait consumption by generalist predators in shallow marine ecosystems are tightly linked to both temperature and the composition of consumer assemblages. Unexpectedly, rates of consumption peaked at mid latitudes (25-35°) in both northern and southern hemispheres across both seagrass and unvegetated sediment habitats. This pattern contrasts with terrestrial systems, where biotic interactions reportedly weaken away from the equator, but it parallels an emerging pattern of a subtropical peak in marine biodiversity. The higher consumption at mid-latitudes was closely related to the type of consumers present, which explained rates of consumption better than consumer density, biomass, species diversity, or habitat. Indeed, the apparent effect of temperature on consumption was mostly driven by temperature-associated turnover in consumer community composition. Our findings reinforce the key influence of climate warming on altered species composition and highlight its implications for the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems.

Item ID: 63884
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1091-6490
Keywords: latitudinal gradients; trophic processes; seagrass; biogeography; macroecology
Funders: Smithsonian Institution, Tula Foundation
Research Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9gnm, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3998836
Date Deposited: 23 Nov 2020 21:08
FoR Codes: 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4102 Ecological applications > 410299 Ecological applications not elsewhere classified @ 40%
31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 30%
31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310302 Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) @ 30%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 50%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9606 Environmental and Natural Resource Evaluation > 960604 Environmental Management Systems @ 50%
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