Trophic transfer efficiency in the Lake Superior food web: assessing the impacts of non-native species.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystem-based management relies on understanding how perturbations influence ecosystem structure and function (e.g., invasive species, exploitation, abiotic changes). However, data on unimpacted systems are scarce, therefore, we often rely on impacted systems to make inferences about 'natural states.' Among the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Superior provides a unique case study to address non-native species impacts because the food web is dominated by native species. Additionally, Lake Superior is both vertically (benthic versus pelagic) and horizontally (nearshore versus offshore) structured by depth, providing an opportunity to compare the function of these sub-food webs. We developed an updated Lake Superior EcoPath model using data from the 2005/2006 lake-wide multi-agency surveys cov

SUBMITTER: Matthias BG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9067395 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature