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Influence from Hydrological Modification on Energy and Nutrient Transference in a Deltaic Food Web

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Abstract

Alterations of hydrology are known to trigger changes in coastal ecosystems, such as the composition and abundances of local flora and fauna. It is less well known how these alterations lead to changes in nutrient and energy transfers in these systems. We used comparisons of stable isotope signatures (δ 13C, δ 15N, and δ 34S) in the tissues of conspecific plants and animals collected on each side of the Mobile Bay Causeway to determine the extent to which the causeway may have altered energy and nutrient exchange between the Mobile–Tensaw Delta and upper Mobile Bay. While the δ 13C signatures of most plants and animals varied irrespective of their location relative with causeway location, their δ 15N and δ 34S signatures were almost always more enriched south of the causeway, indicating significant alterations of trophic linkages within this estuarine food web. Dual isotope plots and mixing model analyses indicated that while terrestrial and floating plants were trophically important to consumers north of the causeway, submerged aquatic vegetation was more important to consumers south of the causeway. Although limited in spatial and temporal scale, our results preliminarily show that there are noteworthy differences in stable isotope signatures most likely due to the Mobile Bay Causeway altering energy and nutrient transference.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to A. Gunter for all his help in the field. This project was funded by Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Mini-Grant Program and the Alabama Center for Estuarine Studies (ACES). Thank you to anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Government of South Australia, Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management Board, GPO Box 2916, Port Lincoln, SA, 5606, Australia

    Margene E. Goecker

  2. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    John F. Valentine & Susan A. Sklenar

  3. Department of Marine Science, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36688, USA

    John F. Valentine

  4. Auburn University, Auburn Marine Extension and Research Center, 4170 Commander’s Drive, Mobile, AL, 36615, USA

    Glenn I. Chaplin

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  1. Margene E. Goecker
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  2. John F. Valentine
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  4. Glenn I. Chaplin
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Correspondence to Margene E. Goecker.

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Goecker, M.E., Valentine, J.F., Sklenar, S.A. et al. Influence from Hydrological Modification on Energy and Nutrient Transference in a Deltaic Food Web. Estuaries and Coasts 32, 173–187 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-008-9105-0

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