Anthropogenic effects are associated with a lower persistence of marine food webs.

ABSTRACT: Marine coastal ecosystems are among the most exposed to global environmental change, with reported effects on species biomass, species richness and length of trophic chains. By combining a biologically informed food-web model with information on anthropogenic influences in 701 sites across the Caribbean region, we show that fishing effort, human density and thermal stress anomaly are associated with a decrease in local food-web persistence. The conservation status of the site, in turn, is associated with an increase in food-web persistence. Some of these associations are explained through effects on food-web structure and total community biomass. Our results unveil a hidden footprint of human activities. Even when food webs may seem healthy in terms of the presence and abundance of their c

SUBMITTER: Gilarranz LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4754348 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature