Tracing carbon flow and trophic structure of a coastal Arctic marine food web using highly branched isoprenoids and carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotopes.

PURPOSE:

In this study, we examined the structure and function of the Southampton Island marine food web across 149 species of benthic and pelagic invertebrates, fishes, marine mammals and seabirds collected from 2016 to 2019, to provide a baseline for future studies that aim to quantify temporal changes in food web structuring. More specifically,we used a multi-biomarker approach combining stable isotopes and HBIs to: (i) determine the vertical trophic structure of the marine food web, (ii) investigate the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species of the Arctic food web, and (iii) determine the role of ice algae and phytoplankton carbon source use across different trophic levels and compartments (pelagic and benthic). By shedding new light on the functioning of the Southampton Island food web and specifically how the contribution of ice algae and benthic habitat shapes its structure, these results will be relevant to adaptive management and conservation initiatives implemented in response to anthropogenic stressors and climate change.

DESCRIPTION:

Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem.

Collaborators:

Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - R´emi Amiraux, C.J. Mundy, Jens K. Ehn, Z.A. Kuzyk.

Quebec-Ocean, Sentinel North and Takuvik, Biology Department, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada - Marie Pierrejean.

Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UK - Thomas A. Brown.

Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada - Kyle H. Elliott.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Steven H. Ferguson, Cory J.D. Matthews, Cortney A. Watt, David J. Yurkowski.

School of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Aaron T. Fisk.

Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Grant Gilchrist.

College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA - Katrin Iken.

Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada - Audrey Limoges.

Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Oliver P. Love, Wesley R. Ogloff.

Department of Arctic Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway - Janne E. Søreide.