TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of long-term climate variability on the trophodynamics of an estuarine ecosystem in southern South America
AU - Vögler, Rodolfo
AU - Arreguín-Sánchez, Francisco
AU - Lercari, Diego
AU - del Monte-Luna, Pablo
AU - Calliari, Danilo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2015/12/10
Y1 - 2015/12/10
N2 - The trophodynamics of the Río de la Plata ecosystem over a long time scale (from 1948 to 2008) were simulated using a food-web model forced by two environmental factors. The Atlantic Meridional Mode (meridional sea surface temperature anomalies) was used as regional forcing, and the Río de la Plata (RdlP) runoff was applied as local forcing. The entire food web was impacted by the regional forcing on a decadal scale; at the inter-annual scale, this remote factor had partial effects on the base of the food web. The RdlP runoff impacted primary producers and secondary consumers at the inter-annual scale. The higher effects of the local forcing were temporally coupled with seven of the strongest El Niño events from 1950 to 2008 (1957-1958, 1965-1966, 1972-1973, 1982-1983, 1986-1987, 1991-1992, 1997-1998). In contrast, the lower effects of RdlP runoff on the food web were coupled with six of the strongest La Niña events since 1950 (1950-1951, 1954-1956, 1964, 1970-1971, 1974-1975, 1988-1989). Total system biomass (trophic web attribute) and a measure of system entropy (holistic indicator) were used to identify ecosystem degradation. The entropy and total biomass of the RdlP ecosystem showed two opposite phases: before and after the early 1970s. During the period 1948-1971, the system showed high entropy and low total biomass, indicating high degradation. This cycle was reversed after 1972, and prevailed until the beginning of the 2000s. During this new cycle, the system entropy decreased and it was compensated by an increase in total system biomass. A sustainable entropy gain occurred after 2003, suggesting a new period of ecosystem degradation. The findings are discussed in light of temporal changes in the structural properties of this coastal ecosystem.
AB - The trophodynamics of the Río de la Plata ecosystem over a long time scale (from 1948 to 2008) were simulated using a food-web model forced by two environmental factors. The Atlantic Meridional Mode (meridional sea surface temperature anomalies) was used as regional forcing, and the Río de la Plata (RdlP) runoff was applied as local forcing. The entire food web was impacted by the regional forcing on a decadal scale; at the inter-annual scale, this remote factor had partial effects on the base of the food web. The RdlP runoff impacted primary producers and secondary consumers at the inter-annual scale. The higher effects of the local forcing were temporally coupled with seven of the strongest El Niño events from 1950 to 2008 (1957-1958, 1965-1966, 1972-1973, 1982-1983, 1986-1987, 1991-1992, 1997-1998). In contrast, the lower effects of RdlP runoff on the food web were coupled with six of the strongest La Niña events since 1950 (1950-1951, 1954-1956, 1964, 1970-1971, 1974-1975, 1988-1989). Total system biomass (trophic web attribute) and a measure of system entropy (holistic indicator) were used to identify ecosystem degradation. The entropy and total biomass of the RdlP ecosystem showed two opposite phases: before and after the early 1970s. During the period 1948-1971, the system showed high entropy and low total biomass, indicating high degradation. This cycle was reversed after 1972, and prevailed until the beginning of the 2000s. During this new cycle, the system entropy decreased and it was compensated by an increase in total system biomass. A sustainable entropy gain occurred after 2003, suggesting a new period of ecosystem degradation. The findings are discussed in light of temporal changes in the structural properties of this coastal ecosystem.
KW - Biomass variations
KW - Dynamic food web model
KW - Estuarine ecosystem
KW - Long-term environmental disturbances
KW - Uruguayan coastal waters
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84942279782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.09.006
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.09.006
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0304-3800
VL - 317
SP - 83
EP - 92
JO - Ecological Modelling
JF - Ecological Modelling
ER -