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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Artículo científico |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41568679/ |
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Table of Contents:
- Fossil otolith assemblages reveal millennial-scale changes in reef fish biomass and trophic structure across the Isthmus of Panama. Dillon, Erin M Arosemena, Rodnyel Cybulski, Jonathan D De Gracia, Brígida Finnegan, Seth Lin, Chien-Hsiang Mora, Javiera Pallacks, Sven O'Dea, Aaron Animals Panama Fossils Fishes Biomass Coral Reefs Otolithic Membrane Food Chain Caribbean Region Anthropogenic Effects Human activities have disrupted food webs across ecosystems, but opportunities to quantify pre-impact baselines are rare. Here, we present a novel approach to reconstruct per-capita fish biomass and trophic structure over millennia using the size of otoliths (ear stones) preserved in fossil assemblages. Using this approach, we compared fish energetics on modern (past ~100 years) and mid-Holocene (~7-4 ka) coral reefs along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Panama-two adjacent regions with distinct oceanographic conditions and human impacts. Estimated mean per-capita fish biomass at mortality was around twofold higher in the highly productive Pacific compared with the more oligotrophic Caribbean. Reefs in Pacific Panama also supported relatively more top-heavy trophic structures, consistent with enhanced pelagic subsidies. This interoceanic difference has widened over time: while reefs in Caribbean Panama experienced predator loss and declining per-capita fish biomass, Pacific reefs showed increasing per-capita biomass, principally explained by piscivorous fish. These contrasting millennial-scale shifts highlight how environmental context can shape ecosystem responses to anthropogenic impact. The approach we develop demonstrates how otolith assemblages can serve as a tool to explore long-term energetic dynamics in fish communities, offering unique insights into reef resilience and recovery potential. This article is part of the theme issue 'The biosphere in the Anthropocene'.