1st Edition

Trophic Organization in Coastal Systems

By Robert J. Livingston Copyright 2002
    408 Pages 124 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Derived from an unprecedented research effort covering over 70 field years of field data in a series of studies, Trophic Organization in Coastal Systems represents an alternative approach to coastal research that has been successfully applied to coastal resource management issues. This unique book is based upon a sequence of long-term, interdisciplinary studies of a series of coastal regions in the NE Gulf of Mexico that include nutrient loading, habitat definition, quantified collections of organisms from microbes to fishes, and the determination of the trophic organization that defines the processes that shape the productivity of these areas.

    A multidisciplinary team of marine scientists, chemists, physical oceanographers, geologists, hydrologists, engineers, experimental biologists, and taxonomists have created a singular database of changes in a series of Gulf of Mexico coastal systems. This field information, together with field and laboratory experimentation, is integrated with the scientific literature to advance our understanding of how coastal food webs work. The central focus is on the relationship of primary production in the form of species-specific phytoplankton communities with associated food webs of coastal systems and the relationship of tropho-dynamic processes to long-term changes (natural and polluted) in such areas. The impacts of phytoplankton blooms on trophic organization is elucidated.

    The author, a renowned marine scientist, provides detailed knowledge of the processes that drive coastal ecosystems. He presents an in-depth discussion of a hierarchy of cyclical periods associated with the formation and development of aquatic food webs. Trophic Organization in Coastal Systems will be particularly useful to those involved in research related to the importance of aquatic food webs to an understanding of how aquatic systems function. The principles and processes of trophic organization presented here can serve as a valuable model for research in other regions of the world.

    INTRODUCTION
    Food Webs and the Ecosystem Paradigm
    Trophodynamic Aspects of Ecosystem Processes
    Food Web Ecology in Coastal Systems
    Trophic Studies in the NE Gulf of Mexico

    THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO
    Background
    Drainage Basins
    Coastal Habitats
    Estuarine/Coastal Systems of the NE Gulf
    Perdido Bay System
    Pensacola Bay System
    Choctawhatchee Bay System
    Apalachicola Bay System
    Apalachee Bay System

    LONG-TERM STUDIES: NE GULF OF MEXICO
    Field Programs

    TROPHIC ORGANIZATION IN GULF COASTAL SYSTEMS
    Approaches to the Study of Trophodynamics
    Field Collections
    The Trophic Unit
    Feeding Variability
    Spatial Features of Trophic Response
    Temporal Features of Trophic Response
    Inadequacy of Species-level Designations in Ecological Studies
    Trophic Level Designations
    Trophic Unit Transformation

    STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF TROPHIC ORGANIZATION
    Infaunal Macroinvertebrates
    Descriptive Field Data
    Habitat Changes
    Spatial Variation
    Temporal Variation
    Predation experiments
    Physical Habitat Changes, Predation, and Food Web Relationships
    Effects of Toxic Agents on Trophic Relationships
    Long-Term Changes of Trophic Organization
    Habitat Background
    Biological Trends
    Trophic Relationships
    Dynamic Regression Models
    Long-Term Trends

    COASTAL PHYTOPLANKTON ORGANIZATION
    Freshwater Runoff and Primary Production
    The Perdido Drainage System
    Seasonal and Interannual River Flow Patterns
    Nutrient Loading
    Nutrient Concentration Gradients
    Nutrient Limitation
    Sediment/Water Quality
    Phytoplankton Changes in Perdido Bay
    Phytoplankton Changes in Wolf Bay

    FOOD WEB RESPONSE TO PLANKTON BLOOMS
    Introduction
    Habitat Trends in Perdido Bay
    Biomass Distribution and Species Richness
    Trophic Organization
    Future Analytical Directions

    COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF TROPHIC ORGANIZATION
    Overfishing and Pollution in the NE Gulf
    Spatial Distribution of Food Web Components
    Spatial Patterns of Primary Productivity
    Herbivores
    Omnivores
    C1 Carnivores
    C2 Carnivores
    C3 Carnivores
    Comparative Aspects of Trophic Organization
    Temporal Distribution of Trophic Units
    Baywide Trends of Invertebrates and Fishes
    Trophic Indices

    REGULATION AND FOOD WEB FACTORS
    Pulp Mill Effluents and Food Web Dynamics (Apalachee Bay)
    Phytoplankton Organization in Apalachee Bay, Florida
    Mercury in the Penobscot River-Estuary, Maine
    Scientific Literature
    Food Web Dynamics of Mercury in the Penobscot System

    TROPHIC ORGANIZATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
    Resource Management: the Promise and the Reality
    The Apalachicola Experiment
    Freshwater Flows and the Apalachicola Resource
    Planning and Management Initiatives in the Apalachicola System

    ECOSYSTEM STUDIES: APPROACHES AND METHODS
    Ecosystem Research vs. Patch-Quilt Ecology
    An Alternate Approach to Ecosystem Studies
    Tier 1: Establishment of Research Goals
    Tier 2: Development of the Research Programs
    Tier 3: Development of Resource Management Programs
    Tier 4: Review of Research Activities
    Tier 5: Comparison with Other Systems
    Tier 6: Development of a Resource Management Program
    Tier 7: Application of Research Activities to Education

    CONCLUSIONS
    SUMMARY OF RESULTS

    APPENDIX I: Field/Laboratory Methods Used for the CARRMA Studies (1971 - 2002)

    APPENDIX II: Trophic Organization of Infaunal and Epibenthic Macroinvertebrates and Fishes

    APPENDIX III: Statistical Analysis Used in the Long-Term Studies of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico (1971 - 2002)

    INDEX

    Biography

    Robert J. Livingston