Gigantic cannibals driving a whole-lake trophic cascade

被引:148
|
作者
Persson, L [1 ]
De Roos, AM
Claessen, D
Byström, P
Lövgren, J
Sjögren, S
Svanbäck, R
Wahlström, E
Westman, E
机构
[1] Umea Univ, Dept Ecol & Environm Sci, SE-90187 Umea, Sweden
[2] Univ Amsterdam, Inst Biodivers & Ecosyst Dynam, NL-1090 GB Amsterdam, Netherlands
关键词
D O I
10.1073/pnas.0636404100
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Trophic cascades have been a central paradigm in explaining the structure of ecological communities but have been demonstrated mainly through comparative studies or experimental manipulations. In contrast, evidence for shifts in trophic cascades caused by intrinsically driven population dynamics is meager. By using empirical data of a cannibalistic fish population covering a 10-year period and a size-structured population model, we show the occurrence of a dynamic trophic cascade in a lake ecosystem, in which the community overtime alternates between two different configurations. The intrinsically driven change in the size structure of the fish population from a dominance of stunted individuals to a dominance of gigantic cannibals among adult individuals is the driving force behind distinct abundance switches observed in zooplankton and phytoplankton. The presence of the phase with gigantic cannibals depends critically on the energy they extract from their victims, allowing strong reproduction for a number of years.
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页码:4035 / 4039
页数:5
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