Marine food webs are more complex but less stable in sub-Antarctic (Beagle Channel, Argentina) than in Antarctic (Potter Cove, Antarctic Peninsula) regions
Iara Diamela Rodriguez1,2, Tomás Ignacio Marina2,3, Irene Ruth Schloss2,3, Leonardo Ariel Saravia1
(1) Instituto de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (UNGS), Los Polvorines, Argentina. (2) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina (3) Laboratorio de Oceanografía Biológica, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina.
Food web structure plays an important role in determining ecosystem stability to perturbations. High-latitude marine ecosystems are being affected by environmental stressors and ecological shifts. In the West Antarctic Peninsula these transformations are driven by climate change, and in the sub-Antarctic region by anthropogenic activities. Understanding the differences between these areas is necessary to monitor the changes that are expected to occur in the upcoming decades. Here, we compared the structure and stability of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine food webs. We compiled species trophic (predator-prey) interactions and calculated complexity (number of species and interactions, connectance), structure (mean trophic level, omnivory, degree distribution, modularity, species roles and traits) and stability (QSS) metrics. Our results show that Beagle Channel food web is more complex, but less locally stable and sensitive to the loss of its most connected species. While the Potter Cove food web presented less complexity and greater stability to perturbations.
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Copyright 2021 Iara Diamela Rodriguez
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