[en] 1. Stable isotope analysis, coupled with dietary data from the literature, was used to investigate trophic patterns of freshwater fauna in a tropical stream food web (Guadeloupe, French West Indies). 2. Primary producers (biofilm, algae and plant detritus of terrestrial origin) showed distinct delta C-13 signatures, which allowed for a powerful discrimination of carbon sources. Both autochthonous (C-13-enriched signatures) and allochthonous (C-13-depleted signatures) resources enter the food web. The migrating behaviour of fishes and shrimps between marine and freshwater during their life cycles can be followed by carbon isotopes. Here, shrimp delta C-13 signatures were shown to shift from -16 parts per thousand (for juveniles under marine influence) to -24.7 parts per thousand (for adults in freshwater habitats). For resident species, delta C-13 values partly reflected the species' habitat preferences along the river continuum: species living in river mouths were C-13-enriched in comparison with those collected upstream. 3. Nitrogen isotopic ratios were also discriminating and defined three main trophic guilds among consumers. The delta N-15 values of herbivores/detritivores were 5.0-8.4 parts per thousand, omnivores 8.8-10.2 parts per thousand and carnivores 11-12.7 parts per thousand. 4. Mixing model equations were employed to calculate the possible range of contribution made by respective food sources to the diet of each species. The results revealed the importance of omnivorous species and the dependence of riverine biota on terrestrial subsidies, such as leaf detritus and fruits. Finally, the abundance of shrimps and their feeding habits placed in relief their key role in tropical freshwater food webs. Isotopic analysis provides a useful tool for assessing animal feeding patterns.
Research center :
MARE - Centre Interfacultaire de Recherches en Océanologie - ULiège
Disciplines :
Aquatic sciences & oceanology
Author, co-author :
Coat, Sophie; Université des Antilles et de la Guyane > DYNECAR > Laboratoire de Biologie Marine
Monti, Dominique; Université des Antilles et de la Guyane > DYNECAR > Laboratoire de Biologie Marine
Bouchon, Claude; Université des Antilles et de la Guyane > DYNECAR > Laboratoire de Biologie Marine
Lepoint, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Océanologie
Language :
English
Title :
Trophic relationships in a tropical stream food web assessed by stable isotope analysis
Brito E.F., Moulton T.P., Souza M.L. Bunn S.E. (2006) Stable isotope analysis indicates microalgae as the predominant food source of fauna in a coastal forest stream, south-east Brazil. Austral Ecology, 31, 623 633.
Buzby K.M. (1998) The Effect of Disturbance on the Ecological Efficiency of a Small Tropical Stream. PhD Thesis, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
Corbisier T.N., Soares L.S.H., Petti M.A.V., Muto E.Y., Silva M.H.C., McClelland J. Valiela I. (2006) Use of isotopic signatures to assess the food web in a tropical shallow marine ecosystem of southeastern Brazil. Aquatic Ecology, 40, 381 390.
Costanzo S.D., O'Donohue M.J., Dennison W.C., Loneragan N.R. Thomas M. (2001) A new approach for detecting and mapping sewage impacts. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 42, 149 156.
Covich A.P. (1988) Atyid shrimps in the headwaters of the Luquillo Moutains, Puerto Rico: filter feeding in natural and artificial streams. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für theoretische und angewandte Limnologie, 23, 2108 2113.
Covich A.P. McDowell W.H. (1996) The stream community. In : The Food Web of a Tropical Rain Forest (Eds D.P. Reagan R.B. Waide pp. 433 459. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Debrot A.O. (2003) A review of freshwater fishes of Cura̧ao, with comments on those of Aruba and Bonaire. Caribbean Journal of Science, 39, 100 108.
DeNiro M.J. Epstein S. (1977) A mechanism of carbon isotope fractionation associated with lipid synthesis. Science (Washington, D.C.), 197, 261 263.
DeNiro M.J. Epstein S. (1978) Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 42, 495 506.
DeNiro M.J. Epstein S. (1981) Influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 45, 341 351.
Dudgeon D. (1999) Tropical Asian Streams: Zoobenthos, Ecology and Conservation. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.
Erdman D.S. (1986) The green stream goby, Sicydium plumieri, in Puerto Rico. Tropical Fish Hobbyist, 34, 70 74.
Fiévet E., Dolédec S. Lim P. (2001) Distribution of migratory fishes and shrimps along multivariate gradients in tropical island streams. Journal of Fish Biology, 59, 390 402.
Forsberg B.R., Araujo-Lima C.A.R.M., Martinelli L.A., Victoria R.L. Bonassi J.A. (1993) Autotrophic carbon sources for fish of the central Amazon. Ecology, 74, 643 652.
Fry B. Sherr E.B. (1984) 13C measurements as indicators of carbon flow in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Contributions in Marine Science, 27, 13 47.
Gillet C. (1983) Les peuplements de poissons et de crevettes des rivières de Guadeloupe: quelques données sur la biologie, la reproduction, la répartition des espèces. Revue d'Hydrobiologie Tropicale, 16, 327 340.
Hansen R.A., Hart D.D. Merz R.A. (1991) Flow mediates predator-prey interactions between triclad flatworms and larval black flies. Oikos, 60, 187 196.
Hildebrand S.F. (1938) A new catalogue of the freshwater fishes of Panama. Field Museum of Natural History. Zoological Series, 22, 215 359.
Iwata T., Inoue M., Nakano S., Miyasaka H., Doi A. Covich A.P. (2003) Shrimp abundance and habitat relationships in tropical rain-forest streams, Sarawak, Borneo. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 19, 387 395.
Kieckbusch D.K., Koch M.S., Serafy J.E. Anderson W.T. (2004) Trophic linkages among primary producers and consumers in fringing mangroves of subtropical lagoons. Bulletin of Marine Science, 74, 271 285.
Kline T.C. (1997) Confirming forage fish food web dependencies in the Prince William Sound ecosystem using natural stable isotope tracers. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Role of Forage Fishes in Marine Ecosystems (Ed. B.S. Baxter Alaska Sea Grant College Program Rep. No 9701, pp. 257 269. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.
Kumlu M. (1999) Feeding and digestion in larval decapod crustaceans. Turkish Journal of Biology, 23, 215 229.
Lamberti G.A. (1996) The role of periphyton in benthic food webs. In : Algal Ecology: Benthic Algae in Freshwater Ecosystem (Eds R.J. Steven, M.L. Bothwell R.L. Lowe pp. 533 572. Academic, London.
Larned S.T., Chong C.T. Punewai N. (2001) Detrital fruit processing in a Hawaiian stream ecosystem. Biotropica, 33, 241 248.
Lim P., Meunier F.J., Keith P. Noël P.Y. (2002) Atlas des Poissons et des Crustacés D'eau Douce de la Martinique (Eds M.N.H.N. Patrimoines Naturels, 51 pp. Paris, France.
Loneragan N.R., Bunn S.E. Kellaway D.M. (1997) Are mangroves and seagrasses sources of organic carbon for penaeid prawns in a tropical Australian estuary? A multiple stable-isotope study. Marine Biology, 130, 289 300.
Madsen H. (1992) Food selection by freshwater snails in the Gezira irrigation canals, Sudan. Hydrobiologia, 228, 203 217.
Malavoi J.R. (1989) Typologie des faciès d'écoulement ou unités morphodynamiques des cours d'eau à haute énergie. Bulletin Fraņais de la Pêche et de la Pisciculture, 315, 189 210.
Mantel S.K., Salas M. Dudgeon D. (2004) Foodweb structure in a tropical Asian forest stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 23, 728 755.
March J.G. Pringle C.M. (2003) Food web structure and basal resource utilization along a tropical island stream continuum, Puerto Rico. Biotropica, 35, 84 93.
March J.G., Benstead J.P., Pringle C.M. Ruebel M.W. (2001) Linking shrimp assemblages with rates of detrital processing along an elevation gradient in a tropical stream. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 58, 470 478.
McConnaughey T. McRoy C.P. (1979) Food-web structure and the fractionation of carbon isotopes in the Bearing Sea. Marine Biology, 53, 257 262.
McCutchan J.H.J., Lewis W.M., Kendall C. McGrath C.C. (2003) Variation in trophic shift for stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Oikos, 102, 378 390.
Motta R.L. Uieda V.S. (2005) Food web structure in a tropical stream ecosystem. Austral Ecology, 30, 58 73.
Nordlie F.G. (1981) Feeding and reproductive biology of eleotrid fishes in a tropical estuary. Journal of Fish Biology, 18, 97 110.
Peterson B.J. Fry B. (1987) Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 18, 293 320.
Phillips D.L. (2001) Mixing models in analyses of diet using multiple stable isotopes: a critique. Oecologia, 127, 166 170.
Phillips D.L. Gregg J.W. (2001) Uncertainty in source partitioning using stable isotopes. Oecologia, 127, 171 179.
Phillips D.L. Gregg J.W. (2003) Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources. Oecologia, 136, 261 269.
Pointier J.P. Lamy D. (1998) Guide des Coquillages des Antilles (Eds PLB 225 pp. Atlas, France.
Pringle C.M. (1996) Atyid shrimps influence the spatial heterogeneity of algal communities over different scales in tropical montane streams, Puerto Rico. Freshwater Biology, 35, 125 140.
Pringle C.M. (1997) Exploring how disturbance is transmitted upstream: going against the flow. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 16, 425 438.
Pringle C.M. Hamazaki T. (1998) The role of omnivory in a tropical stream: separating diurnal and nocturnal effects. Ecology, 79, 269 280.
Pringle C.M., Blake G.A., Covich A.P., Buzby K.M. Finley A. (1993) Effects of omnivorous shrimp in a montane tropical stream: sediment removal, disturbance of sessile invertebrates and enhancement of understory algal biomass. Oecologia, 93, 1 11.
Pyron M. Covich A.P. (2003) Migration patterns, densities, and growth of Neritina punctulata snails in Rio Espiritu Santo and Rio Mameyes, Northeastern Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science, 39, 338 347.
Rau G.H., Mearns A.J., Young D.R., Olson R.J., Schafer H.A. Kaplan I.R. (1983) Animal 13C/12C correlates with trophic level in pelagic food webs. Ecology, 64, 1314 1318.
Schmid-Araya J.M., Schmid P.E., Robertson A., Winterbottom J., Gjerlov C. Hildrew A.G. (2002) Connectance in stream food webs. Journal of Animal Ecology, 71, 1056 1062.
S.I.E.E. (Société d'Ingénierie pour l'Eau et l'Environnement) (1999) Synthèse de la Qualité des Eaux et des Milieux Aquatiques de la Guadeloupe, Vol. 2. Rapport d'étude détaillé. Convention DIREN, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 79 pp.
Songtham W., Ugai H., Imsamut S., Maranate S., Tansathien W., Meesook A. Saengsrichan W. (2005) Middle Miocene Molluscan assemblages in Mae Moh Basin, Lampang Province, northern Thailand. ScienceAsia, 31, 183 191.
Sutty L. (1990) Seashells of the Caribbean (Eds Macmillan Caribbean 106 pp. Atlas, London.
Teixeira R.L. (1994) Abundance, reproductive period, and feeding habits of eleotrid fishes in estuarine habitats of north-east Brazil. Journal of Fish Biology, 45, 749 761.
Tokeshi M. (1999) Species Coexistence: Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives. Blackwell Science, Oxford.
Watson R.E. (2000) Sicydium from the Dominican Republic with description of a new species (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Ser. A, Nr 608, 1 31.
Winemiller K.O. Ponwith B.J. (1998) Comparative ecology of eleotrid fishes in Central American coastal streams. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 53, 373 384.