Temporal variations of food web in a marine bay ecosystem based on LIM-MCMC model

Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the earth’s lifesupporting systems.However,temporal variations in most of these ecosystems have remained unclear so far.In this study,we employed a linear inverse model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)combined with ecological network analysis to reveal the temporal variations of the food web in Haizhou Bay of China.Food webs were constructed based on diet composition data in this ecosystem during the year of 2011 and 2018.Results indicated that there were obvious temporal variations in the composition of food webs in autumn of 2011 and 2018.The number of prey and predators for most species in food web decreased in 2018 compared with 2011,especially for Trichiurus lepturus,zooplankton,Amblychaeturichthys hexanema,and Loligo sp.Ecological network analysis showed that the complexity of food web structure could be reflected by comprehensive analysis of compartmentalized indicators.Haizhou Bay ecosystem was more mature and stable in 2011,while the ecosystem’s self-sustainability and recovery from disturbances were accelerated from 2011 to 2018.These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and highlight the importance of comprehensive analysis of marine food webs.This work provides a framework for assessing and comparing temporal variations in marine ecosystems,which provides essential information and scientific guidance for the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management.

基于LIM-MCMC模型研究江苏近海北部海域食物网能量流动特征

食物网结构特征和能量流动的研究,对于维持海洋生态系统结构和功能的稳定具有重要意义,有助于深入理解海洋生态系统的复杂过程。本研究基于2019-2021年在江苏近海北部海域开展的季节性渔业资源底拖网调查数据,通过构建基于蒙特卡罗马尔科夫链算法的逆线性模型(Linear Inverse Models using a Monte Carlo Method Coupled with Markov Chain, LIM-MCMC),结合生态网络分析(Ecological Network Analysis,ENA)的方法,分析了该海域生态系统状态和食物网能量流动特征,旨在为江苏近海北部海域食物网营养动力学研究提供参考依据。结果表明,该海域生态系统共包含299条能量流动路径,能量流动分布整体呈典型的金字塔结构,各功能群呼吸消耗和流入有机碎屑的能量保持同步性。通过与其他海域比较发现,江苏近海北部海域生态系统的连接指数(Connectance,C)和系统杂食指数(System Omnivory Index,SOI)分别为0.40和0.22,处于较高水平,表明该生态系统不同营养级间的营养联系较为紧密,食物网结构相对复杂,能够在较大程度上抵御外界扰动。总初级生产力/总呼吸(Total Primary Production/Total Respiration,TPP/TR)和Finn’s循环指数(Finn’s Cycling Index,FCI)分别为1.05和5.76%,表明该生态系统对能量利用效率较高。此外,约束效率(Constraint Efficiency,CE)、发展程度(Extent of Development,AC)、协同效应指数(Synergism Index,b/c)和主导间接效应(Dominance Indirect Effects,i/d)也表明该生态系统具有较高的系统发展程度、再生潜力和系统发展空间。本研究将有助于为江苏近海北部海域生态系统的修复和渔业资源的可持续利用提供理论基础,为实施基于生态系统的渔业管理提供科学依据。

Impacts of Aggregation Methods and Trophospecies Number on the Structure and Function of Marine Food Webs

Aggregation of species with similar ecological properties is one of the effective methods to simplify food web researches.However,species aggregation will affect not only the complexity of modeling process but also the accuracy of models’outputs.Selection of aggregation methods and the number of trophospecies are the keys to study the simplification of food web.In this study,three aggregation methods,including taxonomic aggregation(TA),structural equivalence aggregation(SEA),and self-organizing maps(SOM),were analyzed and compared with the linear inverse model–Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)model.Impacts of aggregation methods and trophospecies number on food webs were evaluated based on the robustness and unitless of ecological net-work indices.Results showed that aggregation method of SEA performed better than the other two methods in estimating food web structure and function indices.The effects of aggregation methods were driven by the differences in species aggregation principles,which will alter food web structure and function through the redistribution of energy flow.According to the results of mean absolute percentage error(MAPE)which can be applied to evaluate the accuracy of the model,we found that MAPE in food web indices will increase with the reducing trophospecies number,and MAPE in food web function indices were smaller and more stable than those in food web structure indices.Therefore,trade-off between simplifying food webs and reflecting the status of ecosystem should be con-sidered in food web studies.These findings highlight the importance of aggregation methods and trophospecies number in the analy-sis of food web simplification.This study provided a framework to explore the extent to which food web models are affected by dif-ferent species aggregation,and will provide scientific basis for the construction of food webs.