Multi-level Trophic Cascades In A Heavily Exploited Open Marine Ecosystem

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 13 May 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Our study emphasizes the importance of preserving ecosystem structure and functioning. We showed that a large decrease of the cod population has cascaded down the food web influencing the whole Baltic Sea ecosystem, from planktivorous fish to primary producers.

These findings highlight the fact that, in order to dampen the summer blooms of phytoplankton, often characterized by potentially toxic species, effort should be addressed to prevent large changes at the higher trophic levels, and not only to control anthropogenic nutrient inputs.

This is particularly urgent in low-diversity ecosystems, as the Baltic Sea, where there is lower species compensation.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/proceedingsb