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Annasawmy, P., Ternon, J. F., Marsac, F., Cherel, Y., Behagle, N., Roudaut, G., et al. (2018). Micronekton diel migration, community composition and trophic position within two biogeochemical provinces of the South West Indian Ocean: Insight from acoustics and stable isotopes. Deep-Sea Res. Part I-Oceanogr. Res. Pap., 138, 85–97.
Résumé: Spatial distribution, community composition and trophic roles of micronekton (crustaceans, fishes and squids) were investigated in the Indian South Subtropical Gyre (ISSG) province and the East African Coastal province (EAFR), by combining acoustic surveys, mid-water trawls and stable isotope analyses from scientific cruises conducted in 2009 and 2010. Mesopelagic micronekton performed diel vertical migrations in both provinces, from deep (400-740 m) to surface (0-200 m) layers at dusk and in the opposite direction at dawn, with some species migrating below 740 m. The EAFR province was more dynamic than the oligotrophic ISSG province, with enhanced eddy activity and enhanced yearly productivity. The active enrichment mechanisms in the EAFR, in terms of available primary production, led to high micronekton acoustic density (as a proxy of micronekton abundance) and large micronekton weight and abundance estimates from trawl data. Particulate organic matter in the EAFR exhibited greater enrichment in C-13 and N-15 compared to the ISSG and, consequently, tissues of selected micronekton organisms in the EAFR were more enriched in N-15 (higher delta N-15 values). In both provinces, micronekton encompassed a wide range of isotopic niches, with large overlaps between species. Micronekton and swordfish in the EAFR had an overlapping range of delta N-15 values, contrasting with the ISSG province where swordfish were two trophic levels higher than the sampled micronekton. Our results provide some evidence that the combined action of riverine input and the dynamics of eddies might influence productivity in the EAFR, and hence the abundance of micronekton and the enrichment of tissues in N-15, compared to the oligotrophic ISSG province.
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Eduardo Nole, L., Bertrand, A., Mincarone, M. M., Santos, L., Fredou, T., Assuncao, R., et al. (2020). Hatchetfishes (Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae) biodiversity, trophic ecology, vertical niche partitioning and functional roles in the western Tropical Atlantic. Prog. Oceanogr., 187, 102389.
Résumé: Species of the family Sternoptychidae (hatchetfishes) occur worldwide and play critical roles by sequestering carbon, recycling nutrients, and acting as a key trophic link between epipelagic primary consumers and higher trophic levels in marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, basic knowledge on their ecology is still lacking and their functional ecology remains understudied with respect to composition, organization, functions and environment interactions. Here we integrated comprehensive information collected in the western Tropical Atlantic on the diversity, abundance, distribution and trophic ecology of hatchetfishes, including physicochemical features of their habitats and extensive carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data on its main prey groups. On this basis we defined five functional groups of hatchetfishes with different diet preference, isotopic composition, and vertical abundance peaks and reveal a possible high resource partitioning. Additionally, these species might have a different feeding tie chronology. Hence, hatchetfishes segregate in different ecological groups responding differently to environmental constraints including oxygen concentration and presenting diverse functional roles. As deep-sea species that migrate to epipelagic waters, hatchetfishes may play a key role in the transfer of subsurface photoassimilated carbon to deeper waters, a pathway through which the effects of climate change at the surface are transferred to the deep ocean. Moreover, as consumers of gelatinous organisms, these species convert “gelatinous energy” into “fish energy” readily usable by higher trophic levels, including endangered and commercially important species. This is a crucial trophic relationship that has been historically underestimated due to methodology limitations (e.g., quickly digested gelatinous organisms were probably underestimated in previous studies, based solely on stomach contents). Considering in ecosystem models this trophic relationship, as well as the functional organization of hatchetfishes, is important to properly answer key ecological questions including resource use, carbon transportation, and influence of mesopelagic community in climate change process.
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