RESUMO
Since the collapse of the pelagic fisheries off southwest Africa in the late 1960s, jellyfish biomass has increased and the structure of the Benguelan fish community has shifted, making the bearded goby (Sufflogobius bibarbatus) the new predominant prey species. Despite increased predation pressure and a harsh environment, the gobies are thriving. Here we show that physiological adaptations and antipredator and foraging behaviors underpin the success of these fish. In particular, body-tissue isotope signatures reveal that gobies consume jellyfish and sulphidic diatomaceous mud, transferring "dead-end" resources back into the food chain.
Assuntos
Adaptação Fisiológica , Ecossistema , Cadeia Alimentar , Perciformes/fisiologia , Cifozoários , Anaerobiose , Animais , Bactérias , Comportamento Animal , Biomassa , Fenômenos Fisiológicos Cardiovasculares , Digestão , Comportamento Alimentar , Pesqueiros , Peixes/fisiologia , Sedimentos Geológicos/microbiologia , Sulfeto de Hidrogênio/análise , Namíbia , Oxigênio/análise , Consumo de Oxigênio , Dinâmica Populacional , Comportamento Predatório , Água do Mar/químicaRESUMO
Recurrent eruptions of toxic hydrogen sulphide gas in the waters along the Namibian coast off southwestern Africa have been considered to be local features with only limited ecosystem-scale consequences. But satellite remote sensing has revealed that these naturally occurring events are much more extensive and longer-lasting than previously suspected, and that the resultant hypoxia may last for much longer. The effects on the marine ecology and valuable coastal fisheries of this region are likely to be important.
