Key Features of Intertidal Food Webs That Support Migratory Shorebirds

Blanche Saint-Béat (1) , Christine Dupuy (1) , Pierrick Bocher (1) , Julien Chalumeau (1) , Margot de Crignis (1) , Camille Fontaine (2) , Katell Guizien (3) , Johann Lavaud (1, 4) , Sébastien Lefebvre (5) , Hélène Montanié (1) , Jean-Luc Mouget (6) , Francis Orvain (7) , Pierre-Yves Pascal (1) , Gwenaël Quaintenne (1) , Gilles Radenac (8) , Pierre Richard (1) , Frédéric Robin (1) , Nathalie Niquil (1)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMR 7266
2 Lab-STICC_CNRS_CID_SFIIS
3 LECOB - Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des environnements benthiques
4 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
5 LOG - Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187
6 MMS - Mer, molécules et santé EA 2160
7 BioMEA - Biologie des mollusques marins et des écosystèmes associés
8 LBEML - Laboratoire de biologie et environnement marins - LBEM

The migratory shorebirds of the East Atlantic flyway land in huge numbers during a migratory stopover or wintering on the French Atlantic coast. The Brouage bare mudflat (Marennes-Oléron Bay, NE Atlantic) is one of the major stopover sites in France. The particular structure and function of a food web affects the efficiency of carbon transfer. The structure and functioning of the Brouage food web is crucial for the conservation of species landing within this area because it provides sufficient food, which allows shorebirds to reach the north of Europe where they nest. The aim of this study was to describe and understand which food web characteristics support nutritional needs of birds. Two food-web models were constructed, based on in situ measurements that were made in February 2008 (the presence of birds) and July 2008 (absence of birds). To complete the models, allometric relationships and additional data from the literature were used. The missing flow values of the food web models were estimated by Monte Carlo Markov Chain – Linear Inverse Modelling. The flow solutions obtained were used to calculate the ecological network analysis indices, which estimate the emergent properties of the functioning of a food-web.

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Continental interfaces, environment; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Ocean, Atmosphere

Blanche Saint-Béat, Christine Dupuy, Pierrick Bocher, Julien Chalumeau, Margot de Crignis, et al.. Key Features of Intertidal Food Webs That Support Migratory Shorebirds. PLoS ONE, 2013, 8, pp.e76739. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0076739⟩. ⟨hal-01097501⟩