Climate and Demography Dictate the Strength of Predator-Prey Overlap in a Subarctic Marine Ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: There is growing evidence that climate and anthropogenic influences on marine ecosystems are largely manifested by changes in species spatial dynamics. However, less is known about how shifts in species distributions might alter predator-prey overlap and the dynamics of prey populations. We developed a general approach to quantify species spatial overlap and identify the biotic and abiotic variables that dictate the strength of overlap. We used this method to test the hypothesis that population abundance and temperature have a synergistic effect on the spatial overlap of arrowtooth flounder (predator) and juvenile Alaska walleye pollock (prey, age-1) in the eastern Bering Sea. Our analyses indicate that (1) flounder abundance and temperature are key variables dictating the strength of flou

SUBMITTER: Hunsicker ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3688855 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature