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A seasonal stable isotope survey of the food web associated to a peri-urban rocky shore

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Abstract

We characterized the structure and functioning of the food web associated to an intertidal rocky shore in the harbour of Brest (Western Brittany, France), through a seasonal δ13C and δ15N survey. The dominance of benthic-derived organic matter, and particularly resuspended sediment, in the local pool of suspended organic matter, is highlighted. This benthic-derived organic matter dominates the diet of filter-feeders, including a certain degree of selectivity displayed by various taxa belonging to this trophic group. The food web structure appeared very stable temporally, which suggested the dominance of mixed diets, rather than the consumption of pure sources. It was constituted of 4 trophic levels, including a large diversity of predators, likely favoured by the diversity of microhabitats that characterize this intertidal habitat. From our results, the trophic functioning of this peri-urban rocky shore community does not appear functionally simplified as previously reported for other anthropized and/or artificial rocky ecosystems. We suggest that the topological complexity of rocky habitats, including a diversity of microhabitats, might be responsible of the important animal diversity, in spite of the anthropogenic disturbances characterizing this peri-urban area.

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Acknowledgments

This work is partly funded by the ANR (National Research Agency) ECOKELP. G. Schaal is funded by a French Ministry of Research and Technologies grant. The authors thank Erwan Amice, Caroline Broudin, Benjamin Guyonnet, Robert Marc and Renaud Michel for their valuable help during field sampling. The authors would like to thank Dr Fabio Bulleri and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that greatly contributed to improve this manuscript. We also greatly thank Dr L. M. -L. J. Noël for improving the english.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UPMC Univ Paris 06, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Place Georges Teissier, 29682, Roscoff Cedex, France

    Gauthier Schaal, Pascal Riera & Cédric Leroux

  2. CNRS, UMR 7144 AD2 M, Equipe Ecologie Benthique, Roscoff Cedex, France

    Gauthier Schaal & Pascal Riera

  3. CNRS, FR 2424, Roscoff Cedex, France

    Cédric Leroux

  4. Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environnement Marin, UMR 6539 CNRS, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Place Copernic, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Jacques Grall

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  1. Gauthier Schaal
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  4. Jacques Grall
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Correspondence to Gauthier Schaal.

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Communicated by F. Bulleri.

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Schaal, G., Riera, P., Leroux, C. et al. A seasonal stable isotope survey of the food web associated to a peri-urban rocky shore. Mar Biol 157, 283–294 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1316-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1316-9

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