Ecosystem Function and Services of Aquatic Predators in the Anthropocene

Neil Hammerschlag; Oswald J Schmitz; Alexander S Flecker; Kevin D Lafferty; Andrew Sih; Trisha B Atwood; Austin J Gallagher; Duncan J Irschick; Rachel Skubel; Steven J Cooke

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.005

Ecosystem Function and Services of Aquatic Predators in the Anthropocene

Trends Ecol Evol. 2019 Apr;34(4):369-383. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.005. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA. Electronic address: nhammerschlag@miami.edu.
² School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Schmitz.
³ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Flecker.
⁴ US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Lafferty.
⁵ Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Sih.
⁶ Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Atwood.
⁷ Beneath the Waves, Herndon, VA 20172, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Gallagher.
⁸ Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Irschick.
⁹ Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Skubel.
¹⁰ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Cooke.

PMID: 30857757
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.005

Abstract

Arguments for the need to conserve aquatic predator (AP) populations often focus on the ecological and socioeconomic roles they play. Here, we summarize the diverse ecosystem functions and services connected to APs, including regulating food webs, cycling nutrients, engineering habitats, transmitting diseases/parasites, mediating ecological invasions, affecting climate, supporting fisheries, generating tourism, and providing bioinspiration. In some cases, human-driven declines and increases in AP populations have altered these ecosystem functions and services. We present a social ecological framework for supporting adaptive management decisions involving APs in response to social and environmental change. We also identify outstanding questions to guide future research on the ecological functions and ecosystem services of APs in a changing world.

Keywords: ecosystem effects; lake; ocean; predator; river; trophic cascade.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Climate Change
Ecology
Ecosystem*
Fisheries
Food Chain*
Humans