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Trophic structure in the northern Humboldt Current system: new perspectives from stable isotope analysis

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Abstract

The northern Humboldt Current system (NHCS) is the most productive eastern boundary upwelling system (EBUS) in terms of fish productivity despite having a moderate primary production compared with other EBUS. To understand this apparent paradox, an updated vision of the trophic relationships in the NHCS is required. Using δ13C and δ15N as a proxy of foraging habitat and trophic position, respectively, we focused on thirteen relevant taxonomic groups from zooplankton to air-breathing top predators collected off Peru from 2008 to 2011. Estimates of trophic position (TP) for the anchoveta Engraulis ringens were high (3.4–3.7), in accordance with previous studies showing zooplankton as a major contributor to anchoveta diet and challenging the often-cited short food chain hypothesis for this ecosystem. The squat lobster, Pleuroncodes monodon, a little studied consumer had similar δ15N values that of anchoveta, and thus similar trophic position. However, their differing δ13C values indicate that their foraging habitat do not fully overlap, which could alleviate potential competition between these species. Given the current high biomass of squat lobsters in the ecosystem, we encourage that future research focus on this species and its role in the diet of top predators. The present study provides first estimates of the relative TP of important taxonomic groups in the NHCS, which are needed to revisit anchoveta-centred ecosystem models for this region. Further work using amino acid compound specific stable isotope analyses is now required to confirm these TP estimates.

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Acknowledgements

This work is a contribution to the cooperative agreement between the Instituto del Mar del Peru (IMARPE), the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), and of the LMI DISCOH. This publication was made possible through support provided by the ANR TOPINEME. We would like to thank G. Guillou from the LIENSs laboratory for stable isotope analysis, and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. PE was financially supported by the BEST Grant from IRD and managed by Campus France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto del Mar del Perú, Esquina Gamarra y Gral. Valle s/n, Apartado 22 Callao, Lima, Peru

    Pepe Espinoza, Juan Argüelles, Ricardo Tafur & Patricia Ayón

  2. IRD, UMR248 MARBEC IRD/IFREMER/UM/CNRS, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203, Sète Cedex, France

    Pepe Espinoza, Sophie Bertrand, Yann Tremblay & Arnaud Bertrand

  3. IRD, LEMAR UMR 6539 IFREMER/IRD/CNRS/UBO, Technopole Brest Iroise, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Anne Lorrain & J.-M. Munaron

  4. Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Marseille, France

    Frédéric Ménard

  5. Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360, Villiers-en-bois, France

    Yves Cherel

  6. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, SPC, BP D5, 98848, Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia

    Laura Tremblay-Boyer

  7. Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 17042, La Rochelle, France

    Pierre Richard

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  1. Pepe Espinoza
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Lorrain.

Ethics declarations

This study was funded by IRD, IMARPE and ANR TOPINEME. None of the coauthors have ethical issues arising from conflicts of interest. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Responsible Editor: C. Harrod.

Reviewed by A. Malzahn and undisclosed experts.

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Espinoza, P., Lorrain, A., Ménard, F. et al. Trophic structure in the northern Humboldt Current system: new perspectives from stable isotope analysis. Mar Biol 164, 86 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3119-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3119-8

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