Paterson J Terrill, Rotella Jay J, Arrigo Kevin R, Garrott Robert A
Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2015 May 7;282(1806):20143137. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.3137.
Polynyas are areas of open water surrounded by sea ice and are important sources of primary production in high-latitude marine ecosystems. The magnitude of annual primary production in polynyas is controlled by the amount of exposure to solar radiation and sensitivity to changes in sea-ice extent. The degree of coupling between primary production and production by upper trophic-level consumers in these environments is not well understood, which prevents reliable predictions about population trajectories for species at higher trophic levels under potential future climate scenarios. In this study, we find a strong, positive relationship between annual primary production in an Antarctic polynya and pup production by ice-dependent Weddell seals. The timing of the relationship suggests reproductive effort increases to take advantage of high primary production occurring in the months after the birth pulse. Though the proximate causal mechanism is unknown, our results indicate tight coupling between organisms at disparate trophic levels on a short timescale, deepen our understanding of marine ecosystem processes, and raise interesting questions about why such coupling exists and what implications it has for understanding high-latitude ecosystems.
冰间湖是被海冰环绕的开阔水域，是高纬度海洋生态系统中初级生产的重要来源。冰间湖每年的初级生产规模受太阳辐射暴露量和对海冰范围变化的敏感度控制。在这些环境中，初级生产与上层营养级消费者生产之间的耦合程度尚未得到很好的理解，这使得我们无法在未来潜在气候情景下对较高营养级物种的种群动态做出可靠预测。在本研究中，我们发现南极冰间湖的年初级生产与依赖冰面的威德尔海豹幼崽生产之间存在强烈的正相关关系。这种关系的时间表明，繁殖努力会增加，以利用出生高峰期后几个月出现的高初级生产量。尽管直接的因果机制尚不清楚，但我们的结果表明，不同营养级的生物在短时间尺度上紧密耦合，加深了我们对海洋生态系统过程的理解，并提出了关于这种耦合为何存在以及它对理解高纬度生态系统有何影响的有趣问题。
