Climate sensitivities and uncertainties in food-web pathways supporting larval bluefin tuna in subtropical oligotrophic oceans
Open accessAbstract
Compared with high-latitude seas, the ecological implications of climate change for top consumers in subtropical regions are poorly understood. One critical area of knowledge deficiency is the nature of food-web connections to larvae during their vulnerable time in the plankton. Bluefin tuna (BFT) are highly migratory temperate species whose early life stages are spent in ultra-oligotrophic subtropical waters. Dietary studies of BFT larvae provide evidence of prey-limited growth coupled with strong selection for specific prey types—cladocerans and poecilostomatoid copepods—whose paradoxical or poorly resolved trophic characteristics do not fit the conventional understanding of open-ocean food-web structure and flows. Current knowledge consequently leaves many uncertainties in climate change effects, including the possibility that increased nitrogen fixation by Trichodesmium spp. might enhance resiliency of BFT larvae, despite a projected overall decline in system productivity. To advance understanding and future predictions, the complementary perspectives of oceanographers and fisheries researchers need to come together in studies that focus on the trophic pathways most relevant to fish larvae, the factors that drive variability in spawning regions, and their effects on larval feeding, growth, and survival.
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As ABFT larvae grow larger, they select for larger zooplankton, particularly Cladocera.
“as they grow larger, they select for larger zooplankton (Catalan et al. 2011, Landry andBeckley 2019), particularly Cladocera”
From Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn early to avoid metabolic meltdown in larvae (2022) · cites this paper as Landry and Beckley 2019
The ‘Feeding preferences of larval BFT’ section (page unavailable) reports that ABFT larvae selectively feed on cladocerans, and that the smallest BFT larvae feed mostly on copepod nauplii. It does not establish that growing ABFT larvae increasingly select larger zooplankton, particularly cladocerans; it notes that many larvae instead switch to fish prey after reaching about 10 mm. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFirst feeding tuna larvae depend on production of copepod nauplii and Cladocera, which are tightly linked to the microbial food web.
“The first feeding tuna larvae depend on production of copepod nauplii and Cladocera, which are tightly linked to the microbial food web (Landry et al. 2019).”
From Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn early to avoid metabolic meltdown in larvae (2022) · cites this paper as Landry et al. 2019
The Feeding preferences of larval BFT section (page unavailable) says the smallest larvae prey mostly on copepod nauplii and that cladocerans contribute disproportionately to larval diets, but it does not establish that first-feeding larvae depend on both. The Introduction and Plankton food webs supporting larval BFT section (pages unavailable) describe the prey’s trophic pathways as alternate and poorly understood, not tightly linked to the microbial food web. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredABFT larvae first feed on the early stages of copepods (nauplii) near the surface.
“Their larvae first feed on the early stages of copepods (nauplii) near the surface”
From Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn early to avoid metabolic meltdown in larvae (2022) · cites this paper as Landry and Beckley 2019
Similar conditions occur in the Gulf of Mexico, another main spawning area for ABFT.
“Similar conditions occur in the Gulf of Mexico, another main spawning area for ABFT (Landry et al. 2019).”
From Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn early to avoid metabolic meltdown in larvae (2022) · cites this paper as Landry et al. 2019
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Sorted by citations
Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn early to avoid metabolic meltdown in larvae
Fiksen, Ø., & Reglero, P. (2022) · Ecology · doi:10.1002/ecy.3568 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
- Authors
- Landry, M. R., Beckley, L. E., & Muhling, B. A.
- Affiliations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- Murdoch University (AU)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
- Corresponding author
- Landry, Michael R
- Venue
- ICES Journal of Marine Science
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2018-12-13
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 359-369
- ISSN
- 1054-3139 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9289
- OpenAlex
- W2905118855
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 1.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- ICES Journal of Marine Science (publishedVersion)
- Murdoch University Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NA15OAR4320071)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Keywords
- bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, fish larvae, food webs, climate change, plankton, Cladocera, Trichodesmium, nitrogen fixation, top-down control, prey selection, larval growth, ocean productivity
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