Trophic structure of the pelagic ecosystems of the western and central pacific ocean

(continued on page 2) Introduction The unmistakable trend toward ecosystem approaches to fisheries management is documented in a wide range of official declarations, national and international guidelines, and national-level legislation. The central motivation for this movement is the view that a more holistic ecological perspective on fisheries can lead to more robust management strategies. Eco...

During the breeding period, pelagic birds such as petrels and penguins commute between their colony and distant foraging grounds. Like migrating birds, they are able to travel large distances to reach suitable environmental conditions and/or food supplies. To accomplish their astonishing foraging trips, they should dispose of similar navigation capacities. Pelagic birds present a particular int...

Benthic–pelagic couplingmediated by bivalves has been shown to increase the flow of energy towards the benthos. To assess the capability of clams to process and therewith modify the quality of pelagic food sources for subsequent use by benthic invertebrates, we conducted a growth experiment in which juvenile Gammarus roeseliiwere raised either directly on sedimented pelagic autotrophs (algae, c...

The 'ctenoglossans' are an enigmatic group of transparent, pelagic octopuses that spend their entire life without touching the seafloor. Molecular and morphological evidence shows that the ctenoglossans have arisen via neoteny, the persistence of larval attributes in the adult form. The ctenoglossans have evolved from the planktonic early-dispersal stages of familiar benthic octopuses. Extreme ...

Bacterial abundance, production, and extracellular enzyme activity were determined in the shallow water column, in the epiphytic community of Thalassia testudinum, and at the sediment surface along with total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in Florida Bay, a subtropical seagrass estuary. Data were statistically reduced by principle components analysis (PCA) and multidimensional scaling and rel...

The abundance and dispersion of pelagic waterbirds was measured on Lake Ontario during the aftermath of the storm system generated by Hurricane Isabel, September 2003. The purpose of this study was to determine whether standard shipboard methodologies developed for surveying pelagic seabirds from ships on the ocean are applicable on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and if so whether such surveys may...

Historically the importance of benthic primary production to the structure and function of lake ecosystems has been underestimated. With increasing recognition of the importance of benthic-pelagic linkages in lakes, researchers recently have demonstrated that benthic production can ‘subsidize’ pelagic food webs. These findings indicate that loss of benthic production may lead to a reduction in ...

Human-induced stresses of overfishing, eutrophication, climate change, translocation and habitat modification appear to be promoting jellyfish (pelagic cnidarian and ctenophore) blooms to the detriment of other marine organisms. Mounting evidence suggests that the structure of pelagic ecosystems can change rapidly from one that is dominated by fish (that keep jellyfish in check through competit...