Dining in the Deep: The Feeding Ecology of Deep-Sea Fishes.
Deep-sea fishes inhabit ∼75% of the biosphere and are a critical part of deep-sea food webs. Diet analysis and more recent trophic biomarker approaches, such as stable isotopes and fatty-acid profiles, have enabled the description of feeding guilds and an increased recognition of the vertical connectivity in food webs in a whole-water-column sense, including benthic-pelagic coupling. Ecosystem modeling requires data on feeding rates; the available estimates indicate that deep-sea fishes have lower per-individual feeding rates than coastal and epipelagic fishes, but the overall predation impact may be high. A limited number of studies have measured the vertical flux of carbon by mesopelagic fishes, which appears to be substantial. Anthropogenic activities are altering deep-sea ecosystems and their services, which are mediated by trophic interactions. We also summarize outstanding data gaps.
Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822; email: jdrazen@hawaii.edu.
Jeffrey C
JC
Drazen
Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, Florida 33004; email: tsutton1@nova.edu.
Tracey T
TT
Sutton
D000818:Animals; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005399:Fishes; D020387:Food Chain
feeding rates; food webs; trophic biomarkers; trophic guilds; vertical carbon flux