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CAN STABLE ISOTOPE RATIOS PROVIDE FOR COMMUNITY-WIDE MEASURES OF TROPHIC STRUCTURE?

2007; Wiley; Volume: 88; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[42

1939-9170

Craig A. Layman, D. Albrey Arrington, Carmen G. Montaña, David M. Post,

Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

EcologyVolume 88, Issue 1 p. 42-48 Report CAN STABLE ISOTOPE RATIOS PROVIDE FOR COMMUNITY-WIDE MEASURES OF TROPHIC STRUCTURE? Craig A. Layman, Craig A. Layman Marine Science Program, Department of Biological Sciences, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, Florida 33181 USASearch for more papers by this authorD. Albrey Arrington, D. Albrey Arrington Loxahatchee River District, 2500 Jupiter Park Drive, Jupiter, Florida 33458-8964 USASearch for more papers by this authorCarmen G. Montaña, Carmen G. Montaña Universidad de Los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora, UNELLEZ, Guanare, Apartado Postal 3310 VenezuelaSearch for more papers by this authorDavid M. Post, David M. Post Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106 USASearch for more papers by this author Craig A. Layman, Craig A. Layman Marine Science Program, Department of Biological Sciences, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, Florida 33181 USASearch for more papers by this authorD. Albrey Arrington, D. Albrey Arrington Loxahatchee River District, 2500 Jupiter Park Drive, Jupiter, Florida 33458-8964 USASearch for more papers by this authorCarmen G. Montaña, Carmen G. Montaña Universidad de Los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora, UNELLEZ, Guanare, Apartado Postal 3310 VenezuelaSearch for more papers by this authorDavid M. Post, David M. Post Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 2007 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[42:CSIRPF]2.0.CO;2Citations: 1,037 Corresponding Editor: J. B. Yavitt. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Abstract Stable isotope ratios (typically of carbon and nitrogen) provide one representation of an organism's trophic niche and are widely used to examine aspects of food web structure. Yet stable isotopes have not been applied to quantitatively characterize community-wide aspects of trophic structure (i.e., at the level of an entire food web). We propose quantitative metrics that can be used to this end, drawing on similar approaches from ecomorphology research. For example, the convex hull area occupied by species in δ13C–δ15N niche space is a representation of the total extent of trophic diversity within a food web, whereas mean nearest neighbor distance among all species pairs is a measure of species packing within trophic niche space. To facilitate discussion of opportunities and limitations of the metrics, we provide empirical and conceptual examples drawn from Bahamian tidal creek food webs. These examples illustrate how this methodology can be used to quantify trophic diversity and trophic redundancy in food webs, as well as to link individual species to characteristics of the food web in which they are embedded. Building from extensive applications of stable isotope ratios by ecologists, the community-wide metrics may provide a new perspective on food web structure, function, and dynamics. Citing Literature Volume88, Issue1January 2007Pages 42-48 RelatedInformation