Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem

The Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, hosting a high species diversity and endemism and supporting economically important artisanal fisheries for local people and tourists. To ensure proper management and conservation of species in an ecosystem is ne...

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Autores principales:	Marjorie Riofrío-Lazo, Gunter Reck, Diego Páez-Rosas, Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón, Pablo Del Monte-Luna, Harry Reyes, Juan Carlos Murillo-Posada, Juan Carlos Hernández-Padilla, Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Food-web model Galapagos Islands Ecosystem functioning Ecological role Sustainability of fisheries Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fdd2c9a489674156a3b9d5795e211b15
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fdd2c9a489674156a3b9d5795e211b152021-12-01T05:01:43ZFood web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108270https://doaj.org/article/fdd2c9a489674156a3b9d5795e211b152021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21009353https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XThe Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, hosting a high species diversity and endemism and supporting economically important artisanal fisheries for local people and tourists. To ensure proper management and conservation of species in an ecosystem is necessary to determine the species’ contributions to ecosystem functions and organization. We characterized the structure and functioning of the southeastern Galapagos Archipelago shelf ecosystem by building a mass balanced Ecopath model representing the period 2001–2004. The model considered 72 functional groups, emphasizing endemic or threatened species (EoTS), commercial species and seven fishing fleets. Various ecological network analysis indicators were used to determine the status of the ecosystem. Structural and flow-based indices, trophic interactions among groups and keystone species indices were used to determine the ecological role of the species, while fishing pressure indicators were analyzed to determine the sustainability of the fisheries. The results indicate the ecosystem has a middle developing level, is stable and resilient. Marine mammals, sharks, birds and fish with high trophic level (TLs) play roles in maintaining the order of the ecosystem and its resilience. Among these groups highlight several EoTS (e.g., the Galapagos sea lion), and some species of commercial value (e.g., the Galapagos sailfin grouper). EoTS and commercial species are important contributors to the ecosystem structure, but those with a lower TL contribute the most to the energy transfer. These findings suggest that certain commercial species deserve more protection as they contribute in a similar way as EoTS to important ecosystem functions. Contrary to what was expected, the results suggest the fishing activities produce moderate impacts, mainly on fisheries target species, but without significantly affecting the ecosystem functions. However, further studies are recommended to reinforce these findings. This model provides information useful for the design of management strategies that balance the conservation and exploitation of the Galapagos marine resources.Marjorie Riofrío-LazoGunter ReckDiego Páez-RosasManuel J. Zetina-RejónPablo Del Monte-LunaHarry ReyesJuan Carlos Murillo-PosadaJuan Carlos Hernández-PadillaFrancisco Arreguín-SánchezElsevierarticleFood-web modelGalapagos IslandsEcosystem functioningEcological roleSustainability of fisheriesEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 132, Iss , Pp 108270- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Food-web model Galapagos Islands Ecosystem functioning Ecological role Sustainability of fisheries Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Food-web model Galapagos Islands Ecosystem functioning Ecological role Sustainability of fisheries Ecology QH540-549.5 Marjorie Riofrío-Lazo Gunter Reck Diego Páez-Rosas Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón Pablo Del Monte-Luna Harry Reyes Juan Carlos Murillo-Posada Juan Carlos Hernández-Padilla Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
description	The Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, hosting a high species diversity and endemism and supporting economically important artisanal fisheries for local people and tourists. To ensure proper management and conservation of species in an ecosystem is necessary to determine the species’ contributions to ecosystem functions and organization. We characterized the structure and functioning of the southeastern Galapagos Archipelago shelf ecosystem by building a mass balanced Ecopath model representing the period 2001–2004. The model considered 72 functional groups, emphasizing endemic or threatened species (EoTS), commercial species and seven fishing fleets. Various ecological network analysis indicators were used to determine the status of the ecosystem. Structural and flow-based indices, trophic interactions among groups and keystone species indices were used to determine the ecological role of the species, while fishing pressure indicators were analyzed to determine the sustainability of the fisheries. The results indicate the ecosystem has a middle developing level, is stable and resilient. Marine mammals, sharks, birds and fish with high trophic level (TLs) play roles in maintaining the order of the ecosystem and its resilience. Among these groups highlight several EoTS (e.g., the Galapagos sea lion), and some species of commercial value (e.g., the Galapagos sailfin grouper). EoTS and commercial species are important contributors to the ecosystem structure, but those with a lower TL contribute the most to the energy transfer. These findings suggest that certain commercial species deserve more protection as they contribute in a similar way as EoTS to important ecosystem functions. Contrary to what was expected, the results suggest the fishing activities produce moderate impacts, mainly on fisheries target species, but without significantly affecting the ecosystem functions. However, further studies are recommended to reinforce these findings. This model provides information useful for the design of management strategies that balance the conservation and exploitation of the Galapagos marine resources.
format	article
author	Marjorie Riofrío-Lazo Gunter Reck Diego Páez-Rosas Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón Pablo Del Monte-Luna Harry Reyes Juan Carlos Murillo-Posada Juan Carlos Hernández-Padilla Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez
author_facet	Marjorie Riofrío-Lazo Gunter Reck Diego Páez-Rosas Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón Pablo Del Monte-Luna Harry Reyes Juan Carlos Murillo-Posada Juan Carlos Hernández-Padilla Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez
author_sort	Marjorie Riofrío-Lazo
title	Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
title_short	Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
title_full	Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
title_fullStr	Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
title_full_unstemmed	Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem
title_sort	food web modeling of the southeastern galapagos shelf ecosystem
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fdd2c9a489674156a3b9d5795e211b15
work_keys_str_mv	AT marjorieriofriolazo foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT gunterreck foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT diegopaezrosas foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT manueljzetinarejon foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT pablodelmonteluna foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT harryreyes foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT juancarlosmurilloposada foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT juancarloshernandezpadilla foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem AT franciscoarreguinsanchez foodwebmodelingofthesoutheasterngalapagosshelfecosystem
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Food web modeling of the southeastern Galapagos shelf ecosystem

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