Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (3): 147-155.doi: 10.11978/2021108CSTR: 32234.14.2021108

• Marine Biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen of main fishery organisms in the southwestern waters of Daya Bay, South China Sea in winter 2020

ZHANG Wanru1,2(), LIU Qingxia2,3, HUANG Honghui1,2,3(), QIN Xiaoqing2, LI Jiajun2, CHEN Jianhua1()   

  1. 1. Jiangsu Ocean University, School of Marine Science and Fisheries, Lianyungang 222005, China
    2. South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510300, China
    3. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511485, China
  • Received:2021-08-25 Revised:2021-12-02 Published:2021-12-13
  • Contact: HUANG Honghui,CHEN Jianhua E-mail:zhangwanru0617@163.com;huanghh@scsfri.ac.cn;chenjianhuazsu@163.com
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC1407501);Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)(GML2019ZD0402);Guangdong Provincial Science and technology plan project(2020B1212060001);Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS(2020TD15);Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, CAFS(2021SD03);Financial Fund of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P.R. China(NFZX2021)

Abstract:

To understand the trophic structure of food webs in the southwestern waters of Daya Bay, 35 fishery organisms were collected by bottom trawl in January 2020, and the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C and δ15N) of the fishery organisms were analyzed. Based on the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, six quantitative ecological indicators for nutritional structure of the food web and the trophic levels of the main fishery organisms were calculated; and a continuous nutrition spectrum was made. Most of the fishery organisms captured were fish, crabs and shrimp. The δ13C and δ15N values were -17.63‰ to -14.85‰ and 12.92‰ to 15.46‰ for fishes, respectively, with average values being -16.47‰ and 13.80‰. They were -17.67‰ to -15.51‰ and 11.05‰ to 12.62‰ for shrimp and crabs, with average values of -16.30‰ and 11.85‰, respectively. According to the value of δ15N, the trophic levels of the main fishery organisms were calculated using the additive model (trophic position by the additive model, TPA) and the scaled model (trophic position by the scaled model, TPS). The result showed that there was no significant differences between the results calculated by the two models (P > 0.1), and the average trophic level of fish was higher than that of shrimp and crabs. This study indicates the food web in the southwestern waters of Daya Bay is characterized by a relatively simple initial food source, few trophic levels, short food chain, low trophic level diversity, and high degree of redundancy in trophic structure. The abundance of organisms with high trophic levels decreased, and the structure of the food web shifted from complex to simplistic, and the ecosystem became less stable in the past 30 years. The study adds new basic information about the food web structure in the study area. It also provides a reference for protecting the fishery resources of Daya Bay and maintaining the stability of the ecosystem structure there.

Key words: Daya Bay, fishery organism, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, trophic structure

CLC Number: 

  • S931