Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Publication Date

4-12-2023

Volume

290

Issue

1996

Keywords

ecosystem connectivity, ecosystem function, food-web, functional diversity, seascape, stable isotope analysis

DOI

10.1098/rspb.2023.0262

ISSN

09628452

Abstract

Understanding the factors shaping patterns of ecological resilience is critical for mitigating the loss of global biodiversity. Throughout aquatic environments, highly mobile predators are thought to serve as important vectors of energy between ecosystems thereby promoting stability and resilience. However, the role these predators play in connecting food webs and promoting energy flow remains poorly understood in most contexts. Using carbon and nitrogen isotopes, we quantified the use of several prey resource pools (small oceanic forage, large oceanics, coral reef, and seagrass) by 17 species of elasmobranch fishes (n = 351 individuals) in The Bahamas to determine their functional diversity and roles as ecosystem links. We observed remarkable functional diversity across species and identified four major groups responsible for connecting discrete regions of the seascape. Elasmobranchs were responsible for promoting energetic connectivity between neritic, oceanic and deep-sea ecosystems. Our findings illustrate how mobile predators promote ecosystem connectivity, underscoring their functional significance and role in supporting ecological resilience. More broadly, strong predator conservation efforts in developing island nations, such as The Bahamas, are likely to yield ecological benefits that enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems to combat imminent threats such as habitat degradation and climate change.

E-ISSN

14712954

PubMed ID

37040803

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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