title: Stable isotope analysis of a newly established macrofaunal food web 1.5 years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.
abstract: We examined trophic relationships in a newly established community 1.5 years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill on the west coast of Korea. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in consumers and their potential food sources were compared between the oil-spill site and reference site, located 13.5 km from the oil-spill spot. The isotopic mixing model and a novel circular statistics rejected the influx of petrogenic carbon into the community and identified spatial consistencies such as the high contributions of microphytobenthos, food-chain length, and the isotopic niche of each feeding guild between sites. We suggested that high level of trophic plasticity and the prevalence of omnivory of consumers may promote the robustness of food web against the oil contamination. Furthermore, we highlighted the need of holistic approaches including different functional groups to quantify changes in the food web structure and assess the influence of different perturbations including oil spill.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea; Ocean Science and Technology Institute, Pohang University of Sciences and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eunah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea; Ocean Science and Technology Institute, Pohang University of Sciences and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Je
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bergamino
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Biomedical Science, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Sik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Korea Polar Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Jung
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Choy
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 426-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ok Hwan
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography and Ocean Environmental Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 426-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Heung-Sik
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Geoje-shi 656-834, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won Joon
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ckkang@gist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Chang-Keun
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D020387:Food Chain; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D056910:Republic of Korea
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Circular statistics; Feeding guild; Omnivory; Stable isotope; The Herbei Spirit oil spill; Trophic plasticity