Skip to main content

IMIS

A new integrated search interface will become available in the next phase of marineinfo.org.
For the time being, please use IMIS to search available data

 

[ report an error in this record ]basket (1): add | show Print this page

one publication added to basket [99360]
Strong top-down control in southern California kelp forest ecosystems
Halpern, B.S.; Cottenie, K.; Broitman, B.R. (2006). Strong top-down control in southern California kelp forest ecosystems. Science (Wash.) 312(5777): 1230-1232
In: Science (Washington). American Association for the Advancement of Science: New York, N.Y. ISSN 0036-8075; e-ISSN 1095-9203, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Ecosystems
    Flora > Weeds > Marine organisms > Seaweeds > Kelps
    Food webs
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Halpern, B.S.
  • Cottenie, K., more
  • Broitman, B.R.

Abstract
    Global-scale changes in anthropogenic nutrient input into marine ecosystems via terrestrial runoff, coupled with widespread predator removal via fishing, have created greater urgency for understanding the relative role of top-down versus bottom-up control of food web dynamics. Yet recent large-scale studies of community regulation in marine ecosystems have shown dramatically different results that leave this issue largely unresolved. We combined a multiyear, large-scale data set of species abundances for 46 species in kelp forests from the California Channel Islands with satellite-derived primary production and found that top-down control explains 7- to 10-fold more of the variance in abundance of bottom and mid-trophic levels than does bottom-up control. This top-down control was propagated via a variety of species-level direct and indirect responses to predator abundance. Management of top-down influences such as fishing may be more important in coastal marine ecosystems, particularly in kelp forest systems, than is commonly thought.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors