| Project Detail |
A new approach to deciphering inshore-offshore connectivity of pelagic food webs
Pelagic food webs are vital for nutrient recycling and sustaining commercially harvested species, particularly in productive marine ecosystems. However, the mechanisms that govern the structure and connectivity of these food webs in the coastal-ocean system remain poorly understood, despite the recognised significance of food supply in driving these processes. This knowledge gap hampers effective conservation and management strategies in an evolving oceanic landscape. Supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the PelCon project endeavours to elucidate nutrient dynamics and trophic connections within pelagic food webs in Hawai (nutrient poor subtropical North Pacific) and Galicia (upwelling system in the NE Atlantic), using advanced stable isotope techniques, fostering both scientific advancement and skill development in the field.
The pelagic food web plays an important role in nutrient recycling and the production of food for commercially harvested species, especially in highly productive marine ecosystems. However, processes controlling the structure, function and connectivity of inshore-offshore pelagic food webs in these systems are far from understood, although it is well-known that food supply is a key factor driving these processes. Therefore, a better understanding of nutrient sources and dynamics, as well as trophic connections modulating the pelagic food web in these ecosystems is required to design effective conservation and management strategies in a changing ocean. While analytical techniques to quantify and track nutrient fluxes across the food web were previously lacking, recent advances in compound-specific stable isotope (CSIA) biogeochemistry provide a unique opportunity to assess and quantify trophic linkages between inshore-offshore pelagic food webs. The main aim of my proposal (acronym: PelCon) is to distinguish the input of different sources of production associated with inshore productive and offshore oligotrophic pelagic food webs in Hawai’i (oligotrophic North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) using stable isotopes of carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) in bulk tissues and individual amino acids (i.e. CSIA-AA). I also aim to develop indicators of trophic inshore-offshore connectivity based on stable isotope signatures that can be used to help predict global patterns in horizontal carbon and nitrogen flux in the coastal-ocean system. For this, I will compare the mechanisms coupling coastal-oceanic food webs between Hawai’i Island and a dynamic region in the NE Atlantic Ocean (Galicia, NW Spain) influenced by seasonal upwelling, for which I will apply the same isotopic techniques. Importantly, this proposal will allow me to gain new skills and learn the latest isotopic techniques, further developing my research portfolio, while advancing our knowledge of food web dynamics. |
