Regional Comparisons of Oceanic Food Web Structure Using Stable Isotopes

Food chain length, or the number of trophic steps between primary producers and apex predators within an ecosystem, is a key determinant of ecosystem structure, including overall efficiency, stability, and productivity. Here, we quantitatively estimate food chain length for three pelagic ecosystems characterized by distinct biogeochemical and oceanographic regimes: the Northern California Current (NCC), the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), and the Gulf of California (GoC). From each region, ecologically equivalent organisms were selected from each of four successive trophic steps, including zooplankton (primary consumers), zooplanktivores (secondary consumers), piscivores (tertiary consumers), and higher order predators. Bulk tissue δ¹⁵N values of the organisms from all four trophic steps spanned ranges of approximately 9.8‰ (NCC), 1.4‰ (NPSG), and 2.1‰ (GoC). Regional variations in nitrogen biogeochemistry, however, can alter isotopic baselines and food web dynamics, ultimately complicating bulk isotope measurements across regions. Thus, we apply amino acid nitrogen isotope measurements to quantitatively measure and compare food chain length across consumers from the three regions, accounting for biogeochemical disparities in isotopic baseline. Implications for ecosystem production and efficiency are discussed, including the potential for these different ecosystems to withstand environmental change, including shifting oxygen levels and surface productivity.