Understanding the structure and functioning of polar pelagic ecosystems to predict the impacts of change.

ABSTRACT: The determinants of the structure, functioning and resilience of pelagic ecosystems across most of the polar regions are not well known. Improved understanding is essential for assessing the value of biodiversity and predicting the effects of change (including in biodiversity) on these ecosystems and the services they maintain. Here we focus on the trophic interactions that underpin ecosystem structure, developing comparative analyses of how polar pelagic food webs vary in relation to the environment. We highlight that there is not a singular, generic Arctic or Antarctic pelagic food web, and, although there are characteristic pathways of energy flow dominated by a small number of species, alternative routes are important for maintaining energy transfer and resilience. These more complex r

SUBMITTER: Murphy EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5204148 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature