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Trophic Impacts of Marine Mammals and Seabirds in the Río de la Plata Estuary and the Nearshore Oceanic Ecosystem

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Abstract

As top predators, marine mammals and seabirds play an important role in structuring marine ecosystems, and their trophic role have become a major issue. In this study, we quantify the trophic impact of marine mammals and seabirds in the Río de la Plata estuary based on a previous trophic mass balance model of this estuary. The model comprised 37 functional groups: 3 species of marine mammals (2 cetaceans: Tursiops truncatus, Pontoporia blainvillei and 1 pinniped: Otaria flavescens), 1 coastal bird group comprising 11 species, 17 fish, 12 invertebrates, 2 zooplanktons, 1 phytoplankton, detritus, and 5 fishing fleets. Model results showed that seabirds, O. flavescens and P. blainvillei, are apex predators, with high levels of niche overlap among them, suggesting competition for similar resources such as fish species. Marine mammals and seabirds produce negative effects on commercially important species, while, at the same time, indirect positive effects (increase of the biomass) were also detected in some groups related to trophic cascade effects.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the people that contributed with useful information for the implementation of the ecosystem model for the Río de la Plata. Support from projects PDT 7107 and DINARA/FAO/GEF (ID 3410) is also acknowledged. We are grateful to the Uruguayan National Aquatic Resources Office (DINARA, Uruguay) for providing useful information. We thank Kjetil Torp and the anonymous referees whose comments have greatly improved the quality of this work. We also extend our appreciation to the Associate Editor Karin Limburg for the careful revision and language editing.

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  1. Leandro Bergamino

    Present address: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

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  1. Departamento de Ecología y Evolución—UNDECIMAR, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay

    Leandro Bergamino & Diego Lercari

  2. Departamento de Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay

    Diana Szteren

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Bergamino, L., Szteren, D. & Lercari, D. Trophic Impacts of Marine Mammals and Seabirds in the Río de la Plata Estuary and the Nearshore Oceanic Ecosystem. Estuaries and Coasts 35, 1571–1582 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-012-9545-4

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