Trophic interactions from the sublitoral food web of Araçá Bay, São Sebastião (SP): an assessment by the use of stable isotopes

• Grant number: 12/09937-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Lucy Satiko Hashimoto Soares
• Grantee: Marinella Coutinho Jacinto Pucci
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/50317-5 - Biodiversity and functioning of a subtropical coastal ecosystem: a contribution to integrated management, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

The present study is part of the project "Biodiversity and Functioning of a Subtropical Coastal Ecosystem: A Contribution to Integrated Management" (FAPESP/2011/50317-5), and aims to describe the major pathways of energy flow in the food web of the sublittoral ecosystem of Araçá Bay, São Sebastião (SP). Stable isotopes of nitrogen (15N) and carbon (13C) will be used to detect the main sources of carbon and nitrogen, to estimate the trophic level of species and to identify the link among the trophic groups. Producers and consumers of different trophic groups, of suspended particulate matter and sediments will be sampled on the beaches, mangroves, rocky shores and at the sublittoral zone (at depths up to 20m) during the summer (rainy season) and winter (dry season). Representative species in number, biomass and commercial value will be considered to the analysis. The mixture model SIAR (Stable Isotopes Analysis in R) will be applied to identify the main sources of carbon and nitrogen in the system. The average carbon isotopic signatures of the producers and consumers will be compared to check the primary sources of carbon and also to analyze the coupling among the sublittoral, intertidal and mangroves systems. The trophic position of species will be determined by the isotopic signatures of nitrogen. A diagram illustrating the trophic interactions will be elaborated to identify the major pathways of energy flow in the system. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GORMAN, DANIEL; PUCCI, MARINELLA; SOARES, LUCY S. H.; TURRA, ALEXANDER; SCHLACHER, THOMAS A.. Land-Ocean Connectivity Through Subsidies of Terrestrially Derived Organic Matter to a Nearshore Marine Consumer. ECOSYSTEMS, v. 22, n. 4, p. 796-804, JUN 2019. (11/50317-5, 12/09937-2, 18/06162-6)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PUCCI, Marinella Coutinho Jacinto. Trophic interactions of fish and squid in the Araçá Bay, São Sebastião (São Paulo, Brazil): a stable isotope approach. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto Oceanográfico (IO/DIDC) São Paulo.