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Stable isotopes reveal food web modifications along the upstream–downstream gradient of a temperate stream

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Abstract

The upstream–downstream gradient (UDG) is a key feature of streams. For instance food webs are assumed to change from upstream to downstream. We tested this hypothesis in a small European river catchment (937 km2), and examined whether food web modifications are related to structural (i.e. food web composition) or functional changes (i.e. alteration of linkages within the web). We adopted a double approach at two levels of organisation (assemblage and species levels) using two isotopic metrics (isotopic space area and isotopic niche overlap), and proposed a new hypothesis-testing framework for exploring the dominant feeding strategy within a food web. We confirmed that the UDG influenced stream food webs, and found that food web modifications were related to both structural and functional changes. The structural change was mainly related to an increase in species richness, and induced functional modifications of the web (indirect effect). In addition, the UDG also modified the functional features of the web directly, without changing the web composition. The proposed framework allowed relating the direct effect of the UDG to a diet specialisation of the species, and the indirect effect via the structural changes to a generalist feeding strategy. The framework highlights the benefits of conducting the double approach, and provides a foundation for future studies investigating the dominant feeding strategy that underlies food web modifications.

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Acknowledgments

Grateful acknowledgment is expressed to HEF team (part of Hydrosystems and Bioprocesses Research Unit at Irstea Antony) for assistance in the field and sample preparation. We thank Adrien Rey and the regional natural park “Parc Naturel Régional de la haute vallée de Chevreuse” for advice and participation to field work. Olivier Delaigue gave helpful recommendations for statistical analyses. Michel Hénin, head of the RGIS department at the “Institut d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme d’île-de-France’’ kindly provided the land cover data. We thank the anonymous reviewers, who helped improve the previous versions of this manuscript. This work was partly funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Program on the Seine River Environment (PIREN-Seine—http://www.sisyphe.upmc.fr/piren/) and by the project 33 of the framework agreement between Irstea and the French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (ONEMA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Irstea, UR HBAN, 1 rue Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, CS 10030, 92761, Antony, France

    Nicolas Hette-Tronquart, Jérôme Belliard & Evelyne Tales

  2. UMR CNRS 7208-IRD 207-MNHN-UPMC-UNICAEN “Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystemes Aquatiques”, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France

    Thierry Oberdorff

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  1. Nicolas Hette-Tronquart
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  4. Thierry Oberdorff
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Correspondence to Nicolas Hette-Tronquart.

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Hette-Tronquart, N., Belliard, J., Tales, E. et al. Stable isotopes reveal food web modifications along the upstream–downstream gradient of a temperate stream. Aquat Sci 78, 255–265 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-015-0421-8

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