Can export of organic matter from estuaries support zooplankton in nearshore,marine plumes?

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are connected via transfers of nutrients and organic matter in river discharges. In coastal seas, such freshwater outflows create prominent turbidity plumes. These plumes are areas of high biological activity in the pelagos, of which zooplankton is a key element. Conceptually, the increased biomass of zooplankton consumers in plumes can be supported by two alternative trophic pathways—consumption of fresh marine phytoplankton production stimulated by riverine nutrients, or direct trophic subsidies through the uptake of terrestrial and estuarine organic matter flushed to sea. The relative importance of these two pathways has not been established previously. Isotopic tracing (carbon and nitrogen) was used to measure the extent of incorporation of marine versus terrestrial matter into mesozooplankton consumers in the plumes off a small estuary in eastern Australia. Replicate zooplankton samples were taken during baseflow conditions with minimal freshwater influence to the sea, and during pulsed discharge events that generated turbidity plumes in coastal waters. Food sources utilized by zooplankton differed among locations and with the strength of freshwater flow. Terrestrial and estuarine carbon only made a sizeable contribution (47%) to the carbon demands of zooplankton in the lower estuary during pulsed freshwater flows. By contrast, in plumes that developed in nearshore marine waters, phytoplankton supplied up to 90% of the dietary carbon of zooplankton feeding in the plumes. Overall, it was “fresh” carbon, fixed by marine phytoplankton, the growth of which became stimulated by fluvial nutrient exports, that dominated energy flows in plume regions. The trophic role of terrestrial and estuarine organic exports was comparatively minor. The trophic dynamics of plankton in small coastal plumes is closely linked to variations in freshwater flow, but this coupling operates mainly through the enhancement of in-situ phytoplankton production rather than cross-boundary transfers of organic matter to marine food webs in the pelagos.     

Demographic and Phenotypic Effects of Human Mediated Trophic Subsidy on a Large Australian Lizard (Varanus varius): Meal Ticket or Last Supper?

Humans are increasingly subsidizing and altering natural food webs via changes to nutrient cycling and productivity. Where human trophic subsidies are concentrated and persistent within natural environments, their consumption could have complex consequences for wild animals through altering habitat preferences, phenotypes and fitness attributes that influence population dynamics. Human trophic subsidies conceptually create both costs and benefits for animals that receive increased calorific and altered nutritional inputs. Here, we evaluated the effects of a common terrestrial human trophic subsidies, human food refuse, on population and phenotypic (comprising morphological and physiological health indices) parameters of a large predatory lizard (～2 m length), the lace monitor (Varanus varius), in southern Australia by comparison with individuals not receiving human trophic subsidies. At human trophic subsidies sites, lizards were significantly more abundant and their sex ratio highly male biased compared to control sites in natural forest. Human trophic subsidies recipient lizards were significantly longer, heavier and in much greater body condition. Blood parasites were significantly lower in human trophic subsidies lizards. Collectively, our results imply that human trophic subsidized sites were especially attractive to adult male lace monitors and had large phenotypic effects. However, we cannot rule out that the male-biased aggregations of large monitors at human trophic subsidized sites could lead to reductions in reproductive fitness, through mate competition and offspring survival, and through greater exposure of eggs and juveniles to predation. These possibilities could have negative population consequences. Aggregations of these large predators may also have flow on effects to surrounding food web dynamics through elevated predation levels. Given that flux of energy and nutrients into food webs is central to the regulation of populations and their communities, we advocate further studies of human trophic subsidies be undertaken to evaluate the potentially large ecological implications of this significant human environmental alteration.     

High‐resolution food webs based on nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids

Food webs are known to have myriad trophic links between resource and consumer species. While herbivores have well‐understood trophic tendencies, the difficulties associated with characterizing the trophic positions of higher‐order consumers have remained a major problem in food web ecology. To better understand trophic linkages in food webs, analysis of the stable nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids has been introduced as a potential means of providing accurate trophic position estimates. In the present study, we employ this method to estimate the trophic positions of 200 free‐roaming organisms, representing 39 species in coastal marine (a stony shore) and 38 species in terrestrial (a fruit farm) environments. Based on the trophic positions from the isotopic composition of amino acids, we are able to resolve the trophic structure of these complex food webs. Our approach reveals a high degree of trophic omnivory (i.e., noninteger trophic positions) among carnivorous species such as marine fish and terrestrial hornets.This information not only clarifies the trophic tendencies of species within their respective communities, but also suggests that trophic omnivory may be common in these webs.     

Effects of spatial subsidies and habitat structure on the foraging ecology and size of geckos

While it is well established that ecosystem subsidies-the addition of energy, nutrients, or materials across ecosystem boundaries-can affect consumer abundance, there is less information available on how subsidy levels may affect consumer diet, body condition, trophic position, and resource partitioning among consumer species. There is also little information on whether changes in vegetation structure commonly associated with spatial variation in subsidies may play an important role in driving consumer responses to subsidies. To address these knowledge gaps, we studied changes in abundance, diet, trophic position, size, and body condition of two congeneric gecko species (Lepidodactylus spp.) that coexist in palm dominated and native (hereafter dicot dominated) forests across the Central Pacific. These forests differ strongly both in the amount of marine subsidies that they receive from seabird guano and carcasses, and in the physical structure of the habitat. Contrary to other studies, we found that subsidy level had no impact on the abundance of either gecko species; it also did not have any apparent effects on resource partitioning between species. However, it did affect body size, dietary composition, and trophic position of both species. Geckos in subsidized, dicot forests were larger, had higher body condition and more diverse diets, and occupied a much higher trophic position than geckos found in palm dominated, low subsidy level forests. Both direct variation in subsidy levels and associated changes in habitat structure appear to play a role in driving these responses. These results suggest that variation in subsidy levels may drive important behavioral responses in predators, even when their numerical response is limited. Strong changes in trophic position of consumers also suggest that subsidies may drive increasingly complex food webs, with longer overall food chain length.     

The Gut Bacterial Community of Mammals from Marine and Terrestrial Habitats

After birth, mammals acquire a community of bacteria in their gastro-intestinal tract, which harvests energy and provides nutrients for the host. Comparative studies of numerous terrestrial mammal hosts have identified host phylogeny, diet and gut morphology as primary drivers of the gut bacterial community composition. To date, marine mammals have been excluded from these comparative studies, yet they represent distinct examples of evolutionary history, diet and lifestyle traits. To provide an updated understanding of the gut bacterial community of mammals, we compared bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence data generated from faecal material of 151 marine and terrestrial mammal hosts. This included 42 hosts from a marine habitat. When compared to terrestrial mammals, marine mammals clustered separately and displayed a significantly greater average relative abundance of the phylum Fusobacteria. The marine carnivores (Antarctic and Arctic seals) and the marine herbivore (dugong) possessed significantly richer gut bacterial community than terrestrial carnivores and terrestrial herbivores, respectively. This suggests that evolutionary history and dietary items specific to the marine environment may have resulted in a gut bacterial community distinct to that identified in terrestrial mammals. Finally we hypothesize that reduced marine trophic webs, whereby marine carnivores (and herbivores) feed directly on lower trophic levels, may expose this group to high levels of secondary metabolites and influence gut microbial community richness.     

Marine subsidies alter the diet and abundance of insular and coastal lizard populations

We evaluated the impact of marine materials on the diet and abundance of arthropodivorous lizards inhabiting islands and the coast of the Gulf of California. Here, marine materials are brought onto land by seabirds and by tidal action, and both subsidy pathways cause arthropod abundance to increase. We evaluated Uta stansburiana (side-blotched lizard) diets in three habitats defined by having: (1) no marine subsidies available, (2) only seabird-derived subsidies, and (3) only tidal-derived subsidies. Stable isotope data indicated that lizard diets are subsidized indirectly by seabird and tidal activity. For example, in coastal areas we determined that 40% of a lizard's diet contains arthropods that have consumed algae. Such subsidies may explain why we found that lizards in coastal areas occupy a significantly higher trophic position than lizards in unsubsidized areas. We analyzed eight years of survey data on all arthropodivorous lizards to determine if diet subsidies result in increased lizard abundance. We found that lizards were more abundant in coastal areas than they were in inland habitats, and that they were more abundant on islands with seabirds than on islands without seabird populations. This study provides insight into the importance and effect of marine-derived nutrients from multiple sources on vertebrate consumers inhabiting islands and coastal areas.     

Predator–rodent–plant interactions along a coast–inland gradient in Fennoscandian tundra

Spatial variation in the strength of trophic cascades in arctic tundra has been related to flows of subsidies across ecosystem boundaries. Here, we ask whether the input of marine subsidies in tundra systems would cause spatial variation in the strength of rodent–plant interactions between coastal areas, where predators have access to marine‐derived resources, and non‐subsidized inland areas of northern Fennoscandia. We present a detailed evaluation of predator–rodent–vegetation interactions along a coast‐inland gradient, during the 2011 rodent outbreak and the two following decline years, by using direct assessments of rodent impacts and tracing of marine‐derived nutrients in the food web. Our results revealed that the main rodent predator during summer, the long‐tailed jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus, did not benefit from marine resources while breeding (relative dietary proportion in chicks’ diet = 0–3%). Contrary to this pattern, parasitic jaegers S. parasiticus, bred exclusively near the coast and preyed effectively on both marine resources (41% of chicks’ diet) and rodents (12%). Mammalian predators also showed a higher activity during winter near the coast. Despite overall higher predator numbers, no evidence was found for lower rodent population growth rates during the three monitoring summers and for weaker rodent grazing impacts in the coastal area. Instead, we documented pronounced damages caused by lemmings and voles on bryophytes and vascular plants, especially dwarf shrubs (e.g. Vaccinum myrtillus) all along the coast–inland gradient. Taken together, our results did not support the hypothesis that marine subsidies would trigger a trophic cascade in coastal tundra areas of northern Fennoscandia during a major rodent outbreak, probably due to a relatively low diversity of marine‐subsidized predators in the region. Comparative observational and experimental studies at large spatial scales in various arctic regions are absolutely necessary for a better understanding of factors causing regional variations in the functioning of arctic food webs.     

NUTRIENTS AND THE PRODUCTIVITY OF ESTUARINE AND COASTAL MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

SUMMARY

Recent research on estuarine and coastal marine systems has revealed two particularly interesting things about nutrients and productivity. First is the observation that these areas are among the most intensively fertilized environments on earth. Second is the common finding that much of the characteristically high primary productivity of these shallow waters is supported by nutrients released or recycled by pelagic and benthic microheterotrophs. Since nutrient inputs to coastal areas have probably been increasing and are likely to continue to do so, it is particularly important to understand the relationship between nutrient loading and nutrient cycling and the extent to which their interactions may set the levels of primary and secondary production in coastal systems.

That some direct relationship exists between the input of nutrients and the productivity of higher trophic levels has been a principle of marine ecology since the turn of the century. It is surprisingly difficult, however, to find quantitative evidence showing that estuaries, lagoons, or other coastal waters respond to eutrophication by producing a larger biomass of animals. Part of this difficulty arises because the amount of nitrogen or phosphorus incorporated in animal tissue is a very small term in the total nutrient budget of an estuary, and the accuracy and precision of ecological field measurements may not be adequate to the task. In addition, the response of natural systems to nutrient enrichment is compounded by changes in climate, hydrography, harvesting effort and technology, and pollution.

Attempts to avoid some of these problems by carrying out controlled nutrient addition experiments in the field or with mesocosms have been much rarer in marine ecology than in limnology. The results that are available for such studies seem to suggest that there is a modest enhancement of primary production with nutrient addition, but that most of this extra organic matter is rapidly consumed, presumably by microheterotrophs. In other words, as nutrient inputs rise, so does the rate of nutrient recycling. Only a small fraction of the added nutrients appears as an increment in the production of higher trophic levels.     

Sources,impacts and trends of pharmaceuticals in the marine and coastal environment

There has been a significant investment in research to define exposures and potential hazards of pharmaceuticals in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. A substantial number of integrated environmental risk assessments have been developed in Europe, North America and many other regions for these situations. In contrast, comparatively few empirical studies have been conducted for human and veterinary pharmaceuticals that are likely to enter coastal and marine ecosystems. This is a critical knowledge gap given the significant increase in coastal human populations around the globe and the growth of coastal megacities, together with the increasing importance of coastal aquaculture around the world. There is increasing evidence that pharmaceuticals are present and are impacting on marine and coastal environments. This paper reviews the sources, impacts and concentrations of pharmaceuticals in marine and coastal environments to identify knowledge gaps and suggests focused case studies as a priority for future research.     

Marine resource flows to terrestrial arthropod predators on a temperate island: the role of subsidies between systems of similar productivity

Marine-terrestrial resource flows can subsidies recipient consumers at various trophic levels. Theory suggests that the importance of such spatial subsidies depends on the productivity gradient between adjacent systems; however, the empirical data required to test this assumption are scarce. Most studies of marine-terrestrial subsidies have been performed in arid coastal habitats of low productivity surrounded by productive ocean waters. We examined the importance of marine resource inputs for terrestrial consumers on a temperate, productive forest island surrounded by a marine system of similar productivity. The importance of marine resources for the dominant arthropod consumers was estimated using stable isotopes and linear mixing models. We compared isotopic signatures of spiders and ants captured along a gradient from shore to inland to estimate how far marine-derived energy penetrates the island. We evaluated the distribution of ground-dwelling arthropods using pitfall-trap transects extending from the supratidal-forest boundary to the middle of the island. The contribution of marine-derived energy assimilated by arthropod consumers differed both among taxa and location. Marine-derived resources contributed >80% to the assimilated C of intertidal spiders and 5-10% for spiders at the forest edge and further inland. Ants assimilated 20% of their C from marine-derived resources and this proportion was not affected by distance from shore. Spiders, ants, and all arthropods combined exhibited no spatial aggregation towards the shore. Our results indicate that on temperate islands marine-terrestrial subsidies might be predominantly an edge effect, confined to intertidal consumers. Mobile consumers that opportunistically forage in intertidal habitats play an important role in transferring marine-derived energy further inland. This suggests that the importance of the productivity gradient for spatial subsidies can be modified by the mobility traits of the recipient consumers and their degree of specialization on the interface habitat.     

Tracing biogeochemical subsidies from glacier runoff into Alaska's coastal marine food webs

Nearly half of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Alaska originates from landscapes draining glacier runoff, but the influence of the influx of riverine organic matter on the trophodynamics of coastal marine food webs is not well understood. We quantified the ecological impact of riverine organic matter subsidies to glacier‐marine habitats by developing a multi‐trophic level Bayesian three‐isotope mixing model. We utilized large gradients in stable (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H) and radiogenic (Δ¹⁴C) isotopes that trace riverine and marine organic matter sources as they are passed from lower to higher trophic levels in glacial‐marine habitats. We also compared isotope ratios between glacial‐marine and more oceanic habitats. Based on isotopic measurements of potential baseline sources, ambient water and tissues of marine consumers, estimates of the riverine organic matter source contribution to upper trophic‐level species including fish and seabirds ranged from 12% to 44%. Variability in resource use among similar taxa corresponded to variation in species distribution and life histories. For example, riverine organic matter assimilation by the glacier‐nesting seabirds Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) was greater than that of the forest‐nesting marbled murrelet (B. marmoratus). The particulate and dissolved organic carbon in glacial runoff and near surface coastal waters was aged (12100–1500 years BP ¹⁴C‐age) but dissolved inorganic carbon and biota in coastal waters were young (530 years BP ¹⁴C‐age to modern). Thus terrestrial‐derived subsidies in marine food webs were primarily composed of young organic matter sources released from glacier ecosystems and their surrounding watersheds. Stable isotope compositions also revealed a divergence in food web structure between glacial‐marine and oceanic sites. This work demonstrates linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and facilitates a greater understanding of how climate‐driven changes in freshwater runoff have the potential to alter food web dynamics within coastal marine ecosystems in Alaska.     

Amphibian‐mediated nutrient fluxes across aquatic–terrestrial boundaries of temporary wetlands

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Evidence for a Novel Marine Harmful Algal Bloom: Cyanotoxin (Microcystin) Transfer from Land to Sea Otters

“Super-blooms” of cyanobacteria that produce potent and environmentally persistent biotoxins (microcystins) are an emerging global health issue in freshwater habitats. Monitoring of the marine environment for secondary impacts has been minimal, although microcystin-contaminated freshwater is known to be entering marine ecosystems. Here we confirm deaths of marine mammals from microcystin intoxication and provide evidence implicating land-sea flow with trophic transfer through marine invertebrates as the most likely route of exposure. This hypothesis was evaluated through environmental detection of potential freshwater and marine microcystin sources, sea otter necropsy with biochemical analysis of tissues and evaluation of bioaccumulation of freshwater microcystins by marine invertebrates. Ocean discharge of freshwater microcystins was confirmed for three nutrient-impaired rivers flowing into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and microcystin concentrations up to 2,900 ppm (2.9 million ppb) were detected in a freshwater lake and downstream tributaries to within 1 km of the ocean. Deaths of 21 southern sea otters, a federally listed threatened species, were linked to microcystin intoxication. Finally, farmed and free-living marine clams, mussels and oysters of species that are often consumed by sea otters and humans exhibited significant biomagnification (to 107 times ambient water levels) and slow depuration of freshwater cyanotoxins, suggesting a potentially serious environmental and public health threat that extends from the lowest trophic levels of nutrient-impaired freshwater habitat to apex marine predators. Microcystin-poisoned sea otters were commonly recovered near river mouths and harbors and contaminated marine bivalves were implicated as the most likely source of this potent hepatotoxin for wild otters. This is the first report of deaths of marine mammals due to cyanotoxins and confirms the existence of a novel class of marine “harmful algal bloom” in the Pacific coastal environment; that of hepatotoxic shellfish poisoning (HSP), suggesting that animals and humans are at risk from microcystin poisoning when consuming shellfish harvested at the land-sea interface.     

Trophic ecology of Pacific salmon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus</Emphasis> spp.) in the ocean: a synthesis of stable isotope research

Increasing interest in the marine trophic dynamics of Pacific salmon has been motivated by the recognition of their sensitivity to changing climate and to the competitive effects of hatchery fish on wild stocks. It has become more common to use stable isotopes to supplement traditional diet studies of salmon in the ocean; however, there have been no integrated syntheses of these data to determine whether stable isotope analyses support the existing conventional wisdom of feeding strategies of the Pacific salmon. We performed a meta-analysis of stable isotope data to examine the extent of trophic partitioning among five species of Pacific salmon during their marine lives. Pink, sockeye, and chum salmon showed very high overlap in resource use and there was no consistent evidence for chum relying on alternative food webs dominated by gelatinous zooplankton. δ¹⁵N showed that Chinook and coho salmon fed at trophic levels higher than the other three species. In addition, these two species were distinctly enriched in ¹³C, suggesting more extensive use of coastal food webs compared to the more depleted (pelagic) signatures of pink, sockeye, and chum salmon. This paper presents the first synthesis of stable isotope work on Pacific salmon and provides δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values applicable to research on the fate of the marine derived nutrients these organisms transport to freshwater and riparian ecosystems.     

Shellfish gathering, marine paleoecology and modern human behavior: perspectives from cave PP13B, Pinnacle Point, South Africa

Systematic collection of shellfish has been increasingly recognized as an important component of human adaptation to aquatic environments and as part of the archaeological evidence found in association with the appearance of early Homo sapiens. Over the last forty years, South Africa has played a prominent role in recording the earliest evidence of shellfish in and substantial expansion of the early human diets as shown by several Middle Stone Age (MSA) coastal sites along the west and south coasts. In this paper, we report on the abundance of marine invertebrate species from PP13B cave and interpret these abundances in terms of paleoenvironmental changes, the likely shellfish procurement behaviors involved in both rocky and sandy shore contexts, and the significance of the collection of marine shells for purposes other than food collection. Possible cognitive implications of shellfish gathering as a reflection of modern behavior are also suggested.     

Bottom–up carbon subsidies and top–down predation pressure interact to affect aquatic food web structure

Human impacts such as eutrophication, overexploitation and climate change currently threaten future global food and drinking water supplies. Consequently, it is important that we understand how anthropogenic resource (bottom–up) and consumer (top–down) manipulations affect aquatic food web structure and production. Future climate changes are predicted to increase the inputs of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon to lakes. These carbon subsidies can either increase or decrease total basal production in aquatic food webs, depending on bacterial competition with phytoplankton for nutrients. This study examines the effects of carbon subsidies (bottom–up) on a pelagic community exposed to different levels of top–down predation. We conducted a large scale mesocosm experiment in an oligotrophic clear water lake in northern Sweden, using a natural plankton community exposed to three levels of glucose addition (0, 420 and 2100 μg C l^?1 total added glucose) and three levels of young‐of‐the‐year perch Perca fluviatilis density (0, 0.56 and 2 individuals m^?3). Bacterioplankton production doubled with glucose addition, but phytoplankton production was unaffected, in contrast to previous studies that have manipulated carbon, nutrients or light simultaneously. This suggests that carbon addition alone is not sufficient to reduce autotrophic production, at least in an oligotrophic lake dominated by mixotrophic phytoplankton. Larval perch grazing did not produce a classical trophic cascade, but substantially altered the species composition of crustacean zooplankton and ciliate trophic levels. Glucose addition increased the biomass of rotifers, thus potentially increasing energy transfer through the heterotrophic pathway, but only when fish were absent. This study illustrates that changes in community structure due to selective feeding by top‐predators can determine the influence of bottom–up carbon subsidies.     

Marine resources subsidize insular rodent populations in the Gulf of California,Mexico

Inputs of energy and nutrients from one ecosystem may subsidize consumers in adjacent ones, with significant consequences for local communities and food webs. We used stable isotope and faecal pellet analysis to quantify use of ocean-derived resources by small mammals on islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Rodents were live-trapped on grids originating near shore and extending 125-200 m inland to evaluate the extent to which rodents transport marine nutrients inland, and to determine whether marine foods subsidize island populations, permitting higher densities than would be possible based on terrestrial resources alone. Both faeces and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes revealed that omnivorous mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) consume ocean-derived prey, including littoral and supralittoral invertebrates, and that their diets differed markedly from those of granivorous rodents (Chaetodipus rudinoris). On a small, seabird roosting island, marine prey were important in the diet of mice regardless of their proximity to shore, underscoring the pervasive influence of the ocean on small islands with relatively large coastline area. On a large island, however, consumption of marine foods declined sharply > or =50 m from shore, which suggests that mice are poor conduits of inland movement of energy and nutrients from the sea. Marine resources seemed to act as subsidies for omnivorous rodents: more P. maniculatus were captured near shore than farther inland and there was an inverse relationship between island area and rodent abundance, suggesting that small islands with large amounts of marine inputs support the highest population densities. Patterns of local and island-wide abundance of P. maniculatus are likely the result of several interacting factors, including frustrated dispersal, competition with C. rudinoris, and the absence of predators. We speculate, however, that the availability of marine resources allows P. maniculatus to reach high densities and to persist on small islands in the Gulf despite low and unpredictable terrestrial productivity. Spatial trophic subsidies thus provide a possible mechanistic explanation for the widely reported inverse relationship between population density and island or habitat area.     

Invasions and extinctions reshape coastal marine food webs

The biodiversity of ecosystems worldwide is changing because of species loss due to human-caused extinctions and species gain through intentional and accidental introductions. Here we show that the combined effect of these two processes is altering the trophic structure of food webs in coastal marine systems. This is because most extinctions ( approximately 70%) occur at high trophic levels (top predators and other carnivores), while most invasions are by species from lower trophic levels (70% macroplanktivores, deposit feeders, and detritivores). These opposing changes thus alter the shape of marine food webs from a trophic pyramid capped by a diverse array of predators and consumers to a shorter, squatter configuration dominated by filter feeders and scavengers. The consequences of the simultaneous loss of diversity at top trophic levels and gain at lower trophic levels is largely unknown. However, current research suggests that a better understanding of how such simultaneous changes in diversity can impact ecosystem function will be required to manage coastal ecosystems and forecast future changes.     

Examining predator–prey body size,trophic level and body mass across marine and terrestrial mammals

Predator–prey relationships and trophic levels are indicators of community structure, and are important for monitoring ecosystem changes. Mammals colonized the marine environment on seven separate occasions, which resulted in differences in species'' physiology, morphology and behaviour. It is likely that these changes have had a major effect upon predator–prey relationships and trophic position; however, the effect of environment is yet to be clarified. We compiled a dataset, based on the literature, to explore the relationship between body mass, trophic level and predator–prey ratio across terrestrial (n = 51) and marine (n = 56) mammals. We did not find the expected positive relationship between trophic level and body mass, but we did find that marine carnivores sit 1.3 trophic levels higher than terrestrial carnivores. Also, marine mammals are largely carnivorous and have significantly larger predator–prey ratios compared with their terrestrial counterparts. We propose that primary productivity, and its availability, is important for mammalian trophic structure and body size. Also, energy flow and community structure in the marine environment are influenced by differences in energy efficiency and increased food web stability. Enhancing our knowledge of feeding ecology in mammals has the potential to provide insights into the structure and functioning of marine and terrestrial communities.     

Consumer movement through differentially subsidized habitats creates a spatial food web with unexpected results

Energy and nutrient flow between habitats, or allochthonous input, can have a significant impact on food web dynamics. Previous theory demonstrated that resource abundance decreases in habitats where consumers are subsidized. Here we examine the effect of subsidies that are available in localized parts of a habitat (such as near the shore in a marine‐subsidized terrestrial ecosystem) with a two‐patch model in which consumers move between patches, resources are stationary, and consumers receive the subsidy in only one of the two patches. In contrast to previous theory, our results show that subsidized consumers can increase resource abundance, though only in the subsidized patch. Furthermore, the total resource population responds positively to increasing consumer movement. These results demonstrate the importance of spatial heterogeneity in food web dynamics and the need for further examination of the role of space in multispecies trophic webs.