Food web structure in a rapidly changing coastal environment: the West Antarctic Peninsula

Anthony Voisin; Gilles Lepoint; Bruno Danis; Charlène Guillaumot; Alix Kristiansen; Francesca Pasotti; Thomas Saucède; Loïc N. Michel

doi:10.26496/bjz.2025.201

Authors

Anthony Voisin University of Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, UMR 6539, LEMAR, Plouzané, France and Laboratory of Trophic and Isotope Ecology (LETIS), Freshwater and Oceanic Sciences Unit of reSearch (FOCUS), University of Liège (ULiege), Liège, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3696-4445
Gilles Lepoint Laboratory of Trophic and Isotope Ecology (LETIS), Freshwater and Oceanic Sciences Unit of reSearch (FOCUS), University of Liège (ULiege), Liège, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4375-0357
Bruno Danis Laboratoire de Biologie Marine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50, CP 160/15, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9037-7623
Charlène Guillaumot Laboratoire de Biologie Marine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50, CP 160/15, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium and Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 6 bd Gabriel, F-21000 Dijon, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5507-511X
Alix Kristiansen Laboratory of Trophic and Isotope Ecology (LETIS), Freshwater and Oceanic Sciences Unit of reSearch (FOCUS), University of Liège (ULiege), Liège, Belgium and Sorbonne University, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2520-6329
Francesca Pasotti Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8971-8195
Thomas Saucède Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 6 bd Gabriel, F-21000 Dijon, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6056-4447
Loïc N. Michel Animal Systematics and Diversity (ASD), UR FOCUS, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0988-7050

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26496/bjz.2025.201

Keywords:

stable isotopes, trophic ecology, benthic communities, West Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is one of the most rapidly changing regions in the world. Steep environmental gradients in sea ice cover and glacier melting are observed, but much remains to be documented regarding the impact of these differences on biological communities and ecosystem processes. Here, we study how environmental variability impacts trophic interactions and ecological habitats of benthic communities along the WAP. During the Belgica 121 expedition, dominant benthic mega- and macrofauna, as well as primary producers, were sampled in multiple stations featuring different environmental conditions around the Gerlache Strait. Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur were measured and combined in an isotope niche analysis (SIBER). Our results suggest that changes in environmental features, notably ice-related conditions, could alter food source availability and organic matter fluxes towards benthic organisms. Isotopic compositions of abundant species were more variable in stations with stronger ice-related disturbance. Besides variability in isotopic baseline, this result could possibly also be linked to the use of a wider diversity of food sources (niche expansion) in stations affected by different ice-related conditions. Overall, our findings provide important insights towards understanding the interplay between environmental conditions and ecological habits of benthic consumers along the WAP.

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