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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Trophic positions and predator–prey mass ratio of the pelagic food web in the East China Sea and Sea of Japan

Seiji Ohshimo A D , Hiroshige Tanaka B , Koh Nishiuchi C and Tohya Yasuda C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Fisheries Research Institute of the Far Seas Fisheries, 5-7-1 Orido Shimizu, Shizuoka 424-8633, Japan.

B Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute; 116 Katsura-koi Kushiro, Hokkaido, 085-0802, Japan.

C Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute; 1551-8 Taira-machi, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan.

D Corresponding author. Email: oshimo@affrc.go.jp

Marine and Freshwater Research 67(11) 1692-1699 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF15115
Submitted: 17 March 2015  Accepted: 25 August 2015   Published: 4 November 2015

Abstract

Size-based food webs analysis is essential for understanding food web structure and evaluating the effects of human exploitation on food webs. We estimated the predator–prey mass ratio (PPMR) of the pelagic food web in the East China Sea and Sea of Japan by using the relationships between body mass and trophic position. Trophic position was calculated by additive and scaled models based on nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ15N). The PPMRs based on additive and scaled models were 5032 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2066–15 506) and 3430 (95% CI 1463–10 083) respectively. The comparatively high PPMRs could reflect low ecosystem transfer efficiency and high metabolic rate.

Additional keywords: metabolic rate, stable isotope ratio.


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