Thursday, January 11, 2018

Inverted Trophic Pyramids - Paper!


Watch.
 


And now, read this = very interesting!
And with all that evidence, it appears pretty conclusive that those infamous counter-intuitive inverted trophic pyramids do indeed exist.

And the examples at top?
Still not at all convinced, see this post - and I cite from the paper,
However, instances in which energy is exogenously sourced to create top-heaviness (e.g. from another time or another ecological space) present more opportunity for healthy debate.
If, for instance, we allow ourselves to view the operation of communities at non-traditionally ambitious spatial and temporal scales, many of these systems become less top-heavy – or not top-heavy at all. Top-heavy coral reef communities in which mobile consumers draw energy from neighbouring pelagic communities, for example, begin to look more Eltonian when the dynamics of multiple communities are viewed collectively. 

The underlying challenge is that by habit or necessity, the modus operandi of many ecologists is to survey the biomass contained within a community in a snapshot fashion – and such practices poorly acknowledge the spatially and temporally remote processes that shape community structure.
Bingo - exactly like I said!
Yes fished remote islands and atolls have less Sharks and big predators (because they have been fished away) and feature conventional trophic pyramids - but unless convinced of the contrary, I must insist that those pristine, unfished ones still don't feature those inverted trophic pyramids (read it!) - at least not permanently!

Anyway.
Enjoy the paper!
 

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