TY - JOUR
T1 - Trophic structure and flows of energy in the Huizache-Caimanero lagoon complex on the Pacific coast of Mexico
AU - Zetina-Rejón, Manuel J.
AU - Arreguín-Sánchez, Francisco
AU - Chávez, Ernesto A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors recognize support received by the Instituto Politécnico Nacional through projects CGPI-980056 and CGPI-20010827, EDI, COFAA, and PIFI, and by CONACyT through project 34865-B. We also thank Gladis A. López-Ibarra for the help in preparing Fig. 2. The first author also thanks CONACyT for an individual grant received. Thanks to Dr Ellis Glazier for editing the English-language text. We also thanks the comments made by two anonymous referees.
PY - 2003/8/1
Y1 - 2003/8/1
N2 - The Huizache-Caimanero coastal lagoon complex on the Pacific coast of Mexico supports an important shrimp fishery and is one of the most productive systems in catch per unit area of this resource. Four other less important fish groups are also exploited. In this study, we integrated the available information of the system into a mass-balance trophic model to describe the ecosystem structure and flows of energy using the Ecopath approach. The model includes 26 functional groups consisting of 15 fish groups, seven invertebrate groups, macrophytes, phytoplankton, and a detritus group. The resulting model was consistent as indicated by the output parameters. According to the overall pedigree index (0.75), which measures the quality of the input data on a scale from 0 to 1, it is a high quality model. Results indicate that zooplankton, microcrustaceans, and polychaetes are the principal link between trophic level (TL) one (primary producers and detritus) and consumers of higher TLs. Most production from macrophytes flows to detritus, and phytoplankton production is incorporated into the food web by zooplankton. Half of the flow from TL one to the next level come from detritus, which is an important energy source not only for several groups in the ecosystem but also for fisheries, as shown by mixed trophic impacts. The Huizache-Caimanero complex has the typical structure of tropical coastal lagoons and estuaries. The TL of consumers ranges from 2.0 to 3.6 because most groups are composed of juveniles, which use the lagoons as a nursery or protection area. Most energy flows were found in the lower part of the trophic web.
AB - The Huizache-Caimanero coastal lagoon complex on the Pacific coast of Mexico supports an important shrimp fishery and is one of the most productive systems in catch per unit area of this resource. Four other less important fish groups are also exploited. In this study, we integrated the available information of the system into a mass-balance trophic model to describe the ecosystem structure and flows of energy using the Ecopath approach. The model includes 26 functional groups consisting of 15 fish groups, seven invertebrate groups, macrophytes, phytoplankton, and a detritus group. The resulting model was consistent as indicated by the output parameters. According to the overall pedigree index (0.75), which measures the quality of the input data on a scale from 0 to 1, it is a high quality model. Results indicate that zooplankton, microcrustaceans, and polychaetes are the principal link between trophic level (TL) one (primary producers and detritus) and consumers of higher TLs. Most production from macrophytes flows to detritus, and phytoplankton production is incorporated into the food web by zooplankton. Half of the flow from TL one to the next level come from detritus, which is an important energy source not only for several groups in the ecosystem but also for fisheries, as shown by mixed trophic impacts. The Huizache-Caimanero complex has the typical structure of tropical coastal lagoons and estuaries. The TL of consumers ranges from 2.0 to 3.6 because most groups are composed of juveniles, which use the lagoons as a nursery or protection area. Most energy flows were found in the lower part of the trophic web.
KW - Ecopath
KW - Ecosystem structure
KW - Huizache-Caimanero
KW - Mexico
KW - Network analysis
KW - Trophic model
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0141451963&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00410-9
DO - 10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00410-9
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:0141451963
SN - 0272-7714
VL - 57
SP - 803
EP - 815
JO - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
JF - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
IS - 5-6
ER -