Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Delecambre, Zoé, Ghilardi, Mattia, R Barneche, Diego, Adjeroud, Mehdi, Brandl, Simon J, Casey, Jordan M, Kulbicki, Michel, Mercière, Alexandre, Morais, Renato A, Morat, Fabien, Paul Costesec, Emma, Schiettekatte, Nina M D, Vii, Jason, Letourneur, Yves, Parravicini, Valeriano
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Proceedings. Biological sciences 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41667094/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1868266087570735106
author Delecambre, Zoé
Ghilardi, Mattia
R Barneche, Diego
Adjeroud, Mehdi
Brandl, Simon J
Casey, Jordan M
Kulbicki, Michel
Mercière, Alexandre
Morais, Renato A
Morat, Fabien
Paul Costesec, Emma
Schiettekatte, Nina M D
Vii, Jason
Letourneur, Yves
Parravicini, Valeriano
author_facet Delecambre, Zoé
Ghilardi, Mattia
R Barneche, Diego
Adjeroud, Mehdi
Brandl, Simon J
Casey, Jordan M
Kulbicki, Michel
Mercière, Alexandre
Morais, Renato A
Morat, Fabien
Paul Costesec, Emma
Schiettekatte, Nina M D
Vii, Jason
Letourneur, Yves
Parravicini, Valeriano
Delecambre, Zoé
Ghilardi, Mattia
R Barneche, Diego
Adjeroud, Mehdi
Brandl, Simon J
Casey, Jordan M
Kulbicki, Michel
Mercière, Alexandre
Morais, Renato A
Morat, Fabien
Paul Costesec, Emma
Schiettekatte, Nina M D
Vii, Jason
Letourneur, Yves
Parravicini, Valeriano
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Weak trophic position-body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs. Delecambre, Zoé Ghilardi, Mattia R Barneche, Diego Adjeroud, Mehdi Brandl, Simon J Casey, Jordan M Kulbicki, Michel Mercière, Alexandre Morais, Renato A Morat, Fabien Paul Costesec, Emma Schiettekatte, Nina M D Vii, Jason Letourneur, Yves Parravicini, Valeriano Animals Coral Reefs Food Chain Fishes Biomass Body Size Models, Biological Population Density Unravelling food web dynamics across biological communities is a central goal of ecology. In size-structured ecosystems, the shape of trophic pyramids is often inferred from their size spectra-the distribution of biomass across body-mass classes. Size-spectrum analysis has become a popular tool to study ecosystem functioning in aquatic ecosystems, including coral reefs. However, the key assumption behind size spectra, that body size directly and positively correlates with trophic position, has rarely been evaluated in these systems. Here, we test this assumption by quantifying body mass, population densities and estimating trophic position from stable isotopes for 325 fish species across four Indo-Pacific locations. Consistent with prior studies, we found a positive relationship between biomass and body mass. However, weak and variable relationships between body mass and trophic position led to higher biomass in primary consumers than in predators, as expected in traditional bottom-heavy or diamond-shaped trophic structures. Our findings thus challenge previous reports of coral reef fish biomass prevalence in higher trophic levels (e.g. inverted biomass pyramids), supporting earlier suggestions that simple size-spectrum models do not adequately represent the trophic structure of reef fish communities.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41667094
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher Proceedings. Biological sciences
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Weak trophic position-body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs.
Delecambre, Zoé
Ghilardi, Mattia
R Barneche, Diego
Adjeroud, Mehdi
Brandl, Simon J
Casey, Jordan M
Kulbicki, Michel
Mercière, Alexandre
Morais, Renato A
Morat, Fabien
Paul Costesec, Emma
Schiettekatte, Nina M D
Vii, Jason
Letourneur, Yves
Parravicini, Valeriano
Animals
Coral Reefs
Food Chain
Fishes
Biomass
Body Size
Models, Biological
Population Density
Weak trophic position-body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs. Delecambre, Zoé Ghilardi, Mattia R Barneche, Diego Adjeroud, Mehdi Brandl, Simon J Casey, Jordan M Kulbicki, Michel Mercière, Alexandre Morais, Renato A Morat, Fabien Paul Costesec, Emma Schiettekatte, Nina M D Vii, Jason Letourneur, Yves Parravicini, Valeriano Animals Coral Reefs Food Chain Fishes Biomass Body Size Models, Biological Population Density Unravelling food web dynamics across biological communities is a central goal of ecology. In size-structured ecosystems, the shape of trophic pyramids is often inferred from their size spectra-the distribution of biomass across body-mass classes. Size-spectrum analysis has become a popular tool to study ecosystem functioning in aquatic ecosystems, including coral reefs. However, the key assumption behind size spectra, that body size directly and positively correlates with trophic position, has rarely been evaluated in these systems. Here, we test this assumption by quantifying body mass, population densities and estimating trophic position from stable isotopes for 325 fish species across four Indo-Pacific locations. Consistent with prior studies, we found a positive relationship between biomass and body mass. However, weak and variable relationships between body mass and trophic position led to higher biomass in primary consumers than in predators, as expected in traditional bottom-heavy or diamond-shaped trophic structures. Our findings thus challenge previous reports of coral reef fish biomass prevalence in higher trophic levels (e.g. inverted biomass pyramids), supporting earlier suggestions that simple size-spectrum models do not adequately represent the trophic structure of reef fish communities.
title Weak trophic position-body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs.
topic Animals
Coral Reefs
Food Chain
Fishes
Biomass
Body Size
Models, Biological
Population Density
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41667094/