- General Aspects
- Published:
A review of important concepts in the trophic organization of pelagic ecosystems
Helgoländer wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen volume 30, pages 8–17 (1977)
Abstract
The physical environment has an important influence on the size composition of primary producers in plankton communities. This effect is transmitted through the trophic structure by size selective feeding processes at each level. A pictorial representation of trophic organization in pelagic ecosystems is presented which illustrates the complex involvement of individual species in the food web and the dynamic nature of ecosystem development along alternate pathways.
Literature Cited
Banse, K., 1974. On the role of bacterioplankton in the tropical ocean. Mar. Biol.24, 1–6.
Beers, J. R. & Stewart, G. L., 1967. Micro-zooplankton in the euphotic zone at five locations across the California Current. J. Fish Res. Bd Can.24, 2053–2068.
—— 1969. The vertical distribution of micro-zooplankton and some ecological observations. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer33, 30–44.
Brooks, J. L. & Dodson, S. I., 1965. Predation, body size, and composition of plankton. Science, N. Y.150, 28–35.
Burns, C. W., 1968. The relationship between body size of filter-feeding cladocera and the maximum size of particle ingested. Limnol. Oceanogr.13, 675–678.
Cushing, D. H., 1975. Marine ecology and fisheries. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 278 pp.
Eppley, R. W., Rogers, J. N. & McCarthy, J. J., 1969. Half-saturation constants for uptake of nitrate and ammonium by marine phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr.6, 912–920.
Ferguson, R. L. & Rublee, P., 1976. Contribution of bacteria to standing crop of coastal plankton. Limnol. Oceanogr.21, 141–145.
Finenko, Z. Z. & Zaika, V. E., 1970. Particulate organic matter and its role in the productivity of the sea. In: Marine food chains. Ed. by J. H. Steele. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 32–45.
Frost, B. W., 1972. Effects of size and concentration of food particles on the feeding behavior of the marine planktonic copepodCalanus pacificus. Limnol. Oceanogr.,17, 805–815.
— 1974. Feeding processes at lower trophic levels in pelagic communities. In: The biology of the oceanic Pacific. Ed. by C. B. Miller, Oregon State Univ. Press, Corvallis, 59–77.
Greve, W. Interspecific interaction: the analysis of complex structures in carnivorous zooplankton populations. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. (In press)
Greve, W. & Parsons, T. R. Photosynthesis and fish production: the possible effects of climatic change and pollution. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. (In press)
Grice, G. D. & Hart, A. D., 1962. The abundance, seasonal occurrence and distribution of the epizooplankton between New York and Bermuda. Ecol. Monogr.32, 287–309.
Gross, F. & Zeuthen, E., 1948. The buoyancy of plankton diatoms: a problem of cell physiology. Proc. R. Soc. (B)135, 382–389.
Heinle, D. R., 1966. Production of a calanoid copepod,Acartia tonsa, in the Patuxent River estuary. Chesapeake Sci.7, 59–74.
Hulburt, E. M., 1964. Succession and diversity in the plankton flora of the western North Atlantic. Bull. mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb.14, 33–44.
Isaacs, J. D., 1972. Unstructured marine food webs and “pollutant analogues”. Fish. Bull. U.S.70, 1053–1059.
— 1973. Potential trophic biomasses and trace-substance concentrations in unstructured marine food webs. Mar. Biol.22, 97–104.
Isaacs, J. D. & Wick, G. L., 1973. Optimized tactics for open-water marine predators. Spec. Publ. mar. biol. Ass. India, 193–199.
Kerr, S. R., 1971. A simulation model of lake trout growth. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can.28, 815–819.
— & Martin, N. V., 1970. Trophic-dynamics of lake trout production systems. In: Marine food chains. Ed. by J. H. Steele. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 365–376.
LeBrasseur, R. J., Barraclough, W. E., Kennedy, O. D. & Parsons, T. R., 1969. Production studies in the Strait of Georgia. Part III. Observations on the food of larval and juvenile fish in the Fraser River plume, February to May, 1967. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol.3, 51–61.
Malone, T. C., 1971a. The relative importance of nannoplankton and netplankton as primary producers in tropical oceanic and neritic phytoplankton communities. Limnol. Oceanogr.16, 633–639.
—, 1971b. The relative importance of nannoplankton and netplankton as primary producers in the California Current system. Fish. Bull. U.S.69, 799–820.
Margalef, R., 1974. Ecologia. Ediciones Omega, Barcelona, 951 pp.
— 1975. External factors and ecosystem stability. Schweiz. Z. Hydrol.37, 102–117.
Mullin, M. M., 1963. Some factors affecting the feeding of marine copepods of the genusCalanus. Limnol. Oceanogr.8, 239–250.
— & Brooks, E. R., 1970. Production of the planktonic copepod,Calanus helgolandicus Bull. Scripps Instn Oceanogr. tech. Ser.17, 89–103.
Nival, P. & Nival, S., 1976. Particle retention efficiencies of an herbivorous copepod,Acartia clausi (adult and copepodite stages): Effects on grazing, Limnol. Oceanogr.21, 24–28.
O'Connell, C. P., 1972. The interrelation of biting and filtering in the feeding activity of the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax). J. Fish. Res. Bd Can.29, 285–293.
Paffenhöfer, G. A. & Strickland, J. D. H., 1970. A note on the feeding ofCalanus helgolandicus on detritus. Mar. Biol.5, 97–99.
Parsons, T. R. & LeBrasseur, R. J., 1970. The availability of food to different trophic levels in the marine food chain. In: Marine food chains. Ed. by J. H. Steele. Oliver & Boyd, Endinburgh, 325–343.
—— & Fulton, J. D., 1967. Some observations on the dependence of zooplankton grazing on the cell size and composition of phytoplankton blooms. J. oceanogr. Soc. Japan23, 10–17.
———, & Kennedy, O. D., 1969. Production studies in the Strait of Georgia. II. Secondary production under the Fraser River Plume, February to May, 1967. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol.3, 39–50.
— & Takahashi, M., 1973. Environmental control of phytoplankton cell size. Limnol. Oceanogr.18, 511–515.
Petipa, T. S., 1967. On the life-forms of pelagic copepods and the question of the structure of trophic levels. In: Structure and dynamics of aquatic communities and populations. Akad. Nauk. SSSR Inst. Biol. Southern Seas, 108–119.
Reeve, M. R. & Walter, M. A., 1972. Conditions of culture, food-size selection, and the effects of temperature and salinity on growth rate and generation time inSagitta hispida Conant. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol.9, 191–200.
Richman, S. & Rogers, J. N., 1969. The feeding ofCalanus helgolandicus on synchronously growing populations of the marine diatomDitylum brightwellii. Limnol. Oceanogr.14, 701–709.
Ryther, J. H., 1969. Photosynthesis and fish production in the sea. The production of organic matter and its conversion to higher forms of life vary throughout the world ocean. Science, N.Y.166, 72–76.
Semina, G. I., 1969. The size of phytoplankton cells along longitude 174° W in the Pacific Ocean. Oceanology9, 391–398.
Semina, H. J., 1968. Water movement and the size of phytoplankton cells. Sarsia34, 267–272.
Sieburth, J. McN., Johnson, K. M., Lavoie, D. M. & Burney, C. M. Diurnal periodicity of dissolved organic carbon release and uptake in the euphotic zone of the open North Atlantic. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. (In press)
Smayda, T. J., 1970. The suspension and sinking of phytoplankton in the sea. Oceanogr. mar. Biol.8, 353–414.
Sorokin, Yu. I., 1971a. On the role of bacteria in the productivity of tropical oceanic waters. Int. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol.56, 1–48.
—, 1971b. Bacterial populations as components of oceanic ecosystems. Mar. Biol.11, 101–105.
Steele, J. H., 1965. Some problems in the study of marine resources. Spec. Publs. int. Commn. NW. Atlant. Fish.6, 463–476.
Steele, J. H., & Frost, B. W. The structure of plankton communities. (In prep.)
— & Yentsch, C. S., 1960. The vertical distribution of chlorophyll. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K.39, 217–226.
Thomas, J. P., 1971. Release of dissolved organic matter from natural populations of marine phytoplankton. Mar. Biol.11, 311–323.
Timonin, A. G., 1969. The structure of pelagic associations. The quantitative relationship between different trophic groups of plankton in the frontal zones of the tropical oceans. Oceanology9, 686–694.
Warshaw, S. J., 1972. Effects of alewives (Alsoa pseudoharengus) on the zooplankton of Lake Wononskopomuc, Connecticut. Limnol. Oceanogr.17, 816–825.
Yentsch, C. S. & Ryther, J. H., 1959. Relative significance of the net phytoplankton and nannoplankton in the waters of Vineyard Sound. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer24, 231–238.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in full by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. NSF OCE76-02035.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Landry, M.R. A review of important concepts in the trophic organization of pelagic ecosystems. Helgolander Wiss. Meeresunters 30, 8–17 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02207821
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02207821