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Pathways of organic matter in an estuarine mangrove trophic network assessed by carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2017

Yves Letourneur Open the ORCID record for Yves Letourneur [Opens in a new window] ,
Marine J. Briand  and
Gaël Guillou
Yves Letourneur*
Affiliation:
Institut ISEA and LABEX ‘Corail’,Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4, 98851 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia
Marine J. Briand
Affiliation:
Institut ISEA and LABEX ‘Corail’,Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4, 98851 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia
Gaël Guillou
Affiliation:
Département Littoral Environnement et Sociétés, Université de La Rochelle, UMR CNRS 6250 LIENSs, Bât. Marie Curie, Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17042 La Rochelle cedex 1, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Y. Letourneur, Institut ISEA and LABEX ‘Corail’, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4, 98851 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia email: yves.letourneur@univ-nc.nc
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Abstract

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were used to describe an estuarine mangrove food web in New Caledonia, SW Pacific. Isotopic values were measured for all components of the ecosystem, from various organic matter (OM) sources to predators. Primary producers showed δ13C values from −32.29‰ (Bruguiera gymnorhiza) to −24.67‰ (mouth particulate organic matter), whereas δ15N values ranged from 1.48‰ (Avicennia marina) to 10.17‰ (Eichomia crassipes). Two potential organic matter sources, i.e. the mangrove species and E. crassipes, appeared not to be directly used by consumers although were indirectly entering the food web through particulate and sedimentary organic matter pools (POM and SOM). Overall, invertebrates showed C-depleted and N-depleted values compared with fish, highlighting their lower trophic level. The highest trophic levels in this estuarine mangrove were represented by carangids (δ15N of 11.24‰ for Caranx sp. and 10.81‰ for Carangoides fulvoguttatus) and gerrids (δ15N of 10.42‰ for Gerres filamentosus). Two main pathways of organic matter were identified from sources of OM to end-members, i.e. from estuarine POM and SOM toward gerrids and from marine POM towards carangids. The food chain comprised three or four trophic levels, depending on the pathway of organic matter. The position of some consumer species within the reconstructed food web might imply that an important source of organic matter was probably missing, i.e. microphytobenthos. Despite an obvious connection, the role of river inputs as potential drivers of mangrove food web dynamics appeared important only during the wet season.

Keywords

food websorganic matter sourcesconsumersBayesian mixing modelNew Caledonia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Issue 7 , November 2018 , pp. 1559 - 1569
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

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