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Vol. 54, 2015
Trophic structure of the pelagic food web in the East China Sea
Mei-Ling Bai1,2,*, Fan-Sian Lin1, Yu-Ching Lee1,
Gwo-Ching Gong3,
and Chih-hao Hsieh1,2,4
1Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
2Ocean Data Bank, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
3Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan
4Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Abstract
Background: Trophic
structure and trophic transfer efficiency are among the most
fundamental characteristics of an ecosystem. They characterize the
transfer of nutrient and energy and are crucial in estimating the yield
of harvestable biomass. In this study, we investigated the regulation
of trophic structure (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and larval fish
abundance) and biomass ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton (as an
indicator of transfer efficiency) in the East China Sea, one of the
largest marginal seas in the world and an important fishing ground.
Results: The
results showed that when sea surface temperature was below 25°C,
temperature co-acted with resource availability (zooplankton for larval
fish and phytoplankton for zooplankton) in determining the trophic
structure. When sea surface temperature was above 25°C, resource
availability dominated the regulation of trophic structure. Biomass
ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton decreased with increasing
phosphate concentration.
Conclusions: Our
study suggested that the trophic structure of the East China Sea might
be controlled by bottom-up processes, and this control is mediated by
temperature.
Key words:
Bottom-up control; Top-down control; Transfer efficiency; Phytoplankton; Zooplankton; Fish; Temperature;
Nutrient status; East China Sea.
*Correspondence: E-mail: meilingbai@ntu.edu.tw
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