Global patterns of predator diversity in the open oceans.

Worm, Boris, Sandow, Marcel, Oschlies, Andreas , Lotze, Heike and Myers, R. A. (2005) Global patterns of predator diversity in the open oceans. Science, 309 (5739). pp. 1365-1369. DOI 10.1126/science.1113399.

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Abstract

The open oceans comprise most of the biosphere, yet patterns and trends of species diversity there are enigmatic. Here, we derive worldwide patterns of tuna and billfish diversity over the past 50 years, revealing distinct subtropical "hotspots" that appeared to hold generally for other predators and zooplankton. Diversity was positively correlated with thermal fronts and dissolved oxygen and a nonlinear function of temperature (~25°C optimum). Diversity declined between 10 and 50% in all oceans, a trend that coincided with increased fishing pressure, superimposed on strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation–driven variability across the Pacific. We conclude that predator diversity shows a predictable yet eroding pattern signaling ecosystem-wide changes linked to climate and fishing.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Zoology; Ecology; Ichthyology; species diversity
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BM Biogeochemical Modeling
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EOE-N Experimental Ecology - Food Webs
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2009 18:51
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2019 22:13
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/117

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