Specialization of a mobile, apex predator affects trophic coupling among adjacent habitats.

ABSTRACT: Mobile, apex predators are commonly assumed to stabilize food webs through trophic coupling across spatially distinct habitats. The assumption that trophic coupling is common remains largely untested, despite evidence that individual behaviors might limit trophic coupling. We used stable isotope data from common bottlenose dolphins across the Gulf of Mexico to determine if these apex predators coupled estuarine and adjacent, nearshore marine habitats. δ¹³C values differed among the sites, likely driven by environmental factors that varied at each site, such as freshwater input and seagrass cover. Within most sites, δ¹³C values differed such that dolphins sampled in the upper reaches of embayments had values indicative of estuarine habitats while those sampled outside

SUBMITTER: Cloyed CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8490471 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature