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Ce travail est une contribution à l'étude de l'écologie trophique d'importants prédateurs de la partie Nord du système du Courant de Humboldt (NSCH), le chinchard (Trachurus murphyi), le maquereau (Scomber japonicus) et le calmar géant (Dosidicus gigas). Nous avons caractérisé la variabilité des modes d'alimentation de ces espèces à différentes échelles spatiotemporelles et fourni de nouvelles connaissances sur le comportement alimentaire de ces espèces, définies comme opportunistes par des travaux antérieurs. Pour ce faire, nous avons appliqué une variété de méthodes statistiques à un vaste jeu de données comprenant 27188 estomacs non vides. Sur cette base nous avons décrit l'organisation spatiale de la faune fourrage de ces prédateurs et documenté les changements dans la composition des proies en fonction de la taille de prédateurs et des conditions environnementales. Nos résultats indiquent que l'oxygène dissous jour un rôle clef dans ces processus. Nous avons également résolu un paradoxe sur l'alimentation du calmar géant: pourquoi ils ne se nourrissent guère sur l'immense biomasse d'anchois (Engraulis ringens) présente le long de la côte du Pérou? Nous avons montré que la présence d'une zone de minimum d'oxygène (ZMO) superficielle devant le Pérou pourrait limiter la cooccurrence entre calmars géant et anchois. Pour synthétiser ces résultats, nous avons proposé un modèle conceptuel de l'écologie trophique du calmar géant tenant compte du cycle ontogénétique, de l'oxygène et de la disponibilité des proies. Par ailleurs, nous avons montré que le chinchard et le maquereau se nourrissent des espèces les plus accessibles comme par exemple la galathée Pleurocondes monodon ou les larves zoea. Ces deux prédateurs présentent un chevauchement trophique mais, contrairement à ce qui avait été décrit dans d'autres études, le chinchard n'est pas aussi vorace que le maquereau. Le régime alimentaire de ces poissons est caractérisé par une forte variabilité spatio-temporelle et le talus continental s'avère être une importante frontière biogéographique. La composition du régime alimentaire des poissons prédateurs étudiés n'est pas nécessairement un indicateur cohérent de l'évolution de la biomasse des proies. Les événements El Niño ont eu un faible effet sur le taux de remplissage des estomacs et sur le régime alimentaire du chinchard et du maquereau. Par ailleurs les changements en diversité des proies à échelle décennale contredisent le classique paradigme de corrélation positive entre diversité et température. Finalement, les patrons globaux décrits dans ce travail, illustrent le comportement alimentaire opportuniste, les stratégies de vie et le haut degré de plasticité de ces espèces. Un tel comportement permet de s'adapter aux changements de l'environnement. / This work provides a contribution to a better understanding of the trophic ecology of important predators in the Northern Humboldt Current System, the jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi), the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and the jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) by the characterization of the highly variable feeding patterns of these species at different spatiotemporal scales. We provided new knowledge on the comparative trophic behaviour of these species, defined as opportunistic in previous investigations. For that purpose we applied a variety of statistical methods to an extensive dataset of 27,188 non-empty stomachs. We defined the spatial organization of the forage fauna of these predators and documented changes in prey composition according to predators' size and spatiotemporal features of environment. Our results highligh the key role played by the dissolved oxygen. We also deciphered an important paradox on the jumbo squid diet: why do they hardly forage on the huge anchovy (Engraulis ringens) biomass distributed of coastal Peru? We showed that the shallow oxygen minimum zone present off coastal Peru could hamper the co-occurrence of jumbo squids and anchovies. In addition, we proposed a conceptual model on jumbo squid trophic ecology including the ontogenetic cycle, oxygen and prey availability. Moreover we showed that the trophic behaviour of jack mackerel and chub mackerel is adapted to forage on more accessible species such as for example the squat lobster Pleurocondes monodon and Zoea larvae. Besides, both predators present a trophic overlap. But jack mackerel was not as voracious as chub mackerel, contradictorily to what was observed by others authors. Fish diet presented a high spatiotemporal variability, and the shelf break appeared as a strong biogeographical frontier. Diet composition of our fish predators was not necessarily a consistent indicator of changes in prey biomass. El Niño events had a weak effect on the stomach fullness and diet composition of chub mackerel and jack mackerel. Moreover, decadal changes in diet diversity challenged the classic paradigm of positive correlation between species richness and temperature. Finally, the global patterns that we described in this work, illustrated the opportunistic foraging behaviour, life strategies and the high degree of plasticity of these species. Such behaviour allows adaptation to changes in the environment.

Marine ecosystems are highly dynamic and contain a diverse faunal assemblage that are subject to various natural and anthropogenic variability. Globally, seagrass ecosystems are located adjacent to coastal areas that are heavily impacted by human development and urbanization potentially altering the community structure within these ecosystem. Complex food webs connect many components of these systems, often in unexpected ways, and are ultimately based on one of two pathways: benthic (i.e., seagrass, epiphytes, microalgae, detritus) and planktonic (i.e., phytoplankton). Understanding the pathway which the food web is based gives further insight regarding the biological balance of the ecosystem; thus it is important to expand beyond bounds of single-species approaches for research and management. Observing what a predator consumes and its preference for any particular prey can be informative in regards to how a predator interacts and utilizes an ecosystem. Predatory fish are exposed to a wide range of potential prey with varying levels of mobility in their natural environment and may employ a wide range of feeding tactics in order to capture prey. Overall, prey availability and abundances are influenced by many factors (e.g., seasons, tides, habitat loss and gain) and many piscivorous fishes will undergo ontogenetic shift in diet in order to optimize their energetic return limiting the interpretation of electivity studies. Although much information can be obtained through stomach analysis of fish, some prey are more rapidly digested due to the lack of hard, external structures and may be overlooked in the analysis. Furthermore, prey preference cannot be based solely on the observed abundance in the diet of a predator because it takes time for a predator to find, consume, and digest prey (i.e., "handling time"). Therefore, multiple approaches, both observational and experimental, are necessary to fully understand trophodynamics of fishes and their ecosystems. To better understand the trophodynamics of the Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, my thesis incorporates both an observational and experimental study. My observational study compares three stomach analyses datasets to address changes in the diet composition over a thirty-two year timespan during which natural and anthropogenic changes potentially altered the community structure of Tampa Bay. This is paired with an experimental study to address differently handling times of two morphologically- and behaviorally- different prey that were observed in the diet of juvenile Spotted Seatrout.

Although food quality is thought to play an important role in the survival of marine copepods, the extent of natural variability in food quality remains poorly characterized. Here I characterize the different scales at which food quality varies in copepods of the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Significant interannual variability occurs in the diet of Neocalanus plumchrus in the Strait of Georgia. Between 2001-06 the fatty acid profiles of N. plumchrus switched from omnivorous, oceanic signatures to herbivorous, diatom-dominated signatures. An index of food quality (DHA/EPA) is strongly correlated to the abundance of diapausing N. plumchrus, suggesting that the relative proportion of essential fatty acids provided by dinoflagellates and diatoms are related to the survival of this species. Combined fatty acid and stable isotope analysis indicated that the spring calanoid copepods of the Strait of Georgia occupy three trophic positions: Eucalanus bungii is herbivorous, Calanus marshallae and N. plumchrus are omnivorous, while Euchaeta elongata is carnivorous. Oceanic conspecifics of Strait of Georgia copepods experience a more omnivorous diet, as indicated by the presence of higher proportions of flagellate and carnivory markers, and lower proportions of diatom-based markers in their fatty acids. Despite spatial differences in the quality of their diets, the relative trophic positions of these copepods are constant as indicated by their stable isotope signatures. There is a correlation between the trophic information provided by stable isotopes and fatty acids. However, stable isotopes are not sensitive enough to capture the range of dietary variability observed in fatty acids, and fatty acids do not always provide reliable markers of carnivory and trophic position. Over the span of a season, copepods can utilize a wide range of dietary items including diatoms, flagellates, bacteria, detritus and microzooplankton. Copepods can switch from herbivory to carnivory in response to declining chlorophyll concentrations after the spring bloom, and are occasionally able to utilize detrital and bacterial sources. I conclude that the quality of copepod diets in the SoG varies on interannual, interspecific and seasonal scales. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to ecosystem models of the area, and to copepod physiology.

Although food quality is thought to play an important role in the survival of marine copepods, the extent of natural variability in food quality remains poorly characterized. Here I characterize the different scales at which food quality varies in copepods of the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Significant interannual variability occurs in the diet of Neocalanus plumchrus in the Strait of Georgia. Between 2001-06 the fatty acid profiles of N. plumchrus switched from omnivorous, oceanic signatures to herbivorous, diatom-dominated signatures. An index of food quality (DHA/EPA) is strongly correlated to the abundance of diapausing N. plumchrus, suggesting that the relative proportion of essential fatty acids provided by dinoflagellates and diatoms are related to the survival of this species. Combined fatty acid and stable isotope analysis indicated that the spring calanoid copepods of the Strait of Georgia occupy three trophic positions: Eucalanus bungii is herbivorous, Calanus marshallae and N. plumchrus are omnivorous, while Euchaeta elongata is carnivorous. Oceanic conspecifics of Strait of Georgia copepods experience a more omnivorous diet, as indicated by the presence of higher proportions of flagellate and carnivory markers, and lower proportions of diatom-based markers in their fatty acids. Despite spatial differences in the quality of their diets, the relative trophic positions of these copepods are constant as indicated by their stable isotope signatures. There is a correlation between the trophic information provided by stable isotopes and fatty acids. However, stable isotopes are not sensitive enough to capture the range of dietary variability observed in fatty acids, and fatty acids do not always provide reliable markers of carnivory and trophic position. Over the span of a season, copepods can utilize a wide range of dietary items including diatoms, flagellates, bacteria, detritus and microzooplankton. Copepods can switch from herbivory to carnivory in response to declining chlorophyll concentrations after the spring bloom, and are occasionally able to utilize detrital and bacterial sources. I conclude that the quality of copepod diets in the SoG varies on interannual, interspecific and seasonal scales. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to ecosystem models of the area, and to copepod physiology.

Esta tese foca no papel dos misídeos em ecossistemas costeiros, considerando aspectos de sua distribuição, biologia e ecologia, tais como: distribuição zoogeográfica no Atlântico Sudoeste; dinâmica populacional dos misídeos no estuário de Cananéia, explorando sua distribuição espacial e temporal em relação às variáveis ambientais e abundância do zooplâncton; traços reprodutivos, produção anual e tolerância a gradientes de salinidade; taxas de alimentação, seletividade e respostas funcionais; predação inter- e intraespecífica; e predação sobre os misídeos. Atenção particular foi dada ao papel trófico dos misídeos no contexto da teoria da Biodiversidade e Funcionamento do Ecossistema em ecologia. Através de abordagens experimentais foram avaliados os efeitos da riqueza de espécies da comunidade de misídeos sobre sua seletividade alimentar e taxas de consumo. O efeito da riqueza de espécies da comunidade de predadores dos misídeos também foi considerado. Misídeos geralmente compõem a epifauna bêntica dominante em águas costeiras, tendo assim papel chave nas cadeias alimentares de regiões marinhas costeiras. No entanto, poucos estudos focaram esses organismos na América do Sul: apenas 31 de 1131 espécies de misídeos descritas no mundo foram registradas no Atlântico Sudoeste. No estuário de Cananéia, salinidade e temperatura foram parâmetros importantes na distribuição espacial e temporal dos misídeos. Maiores abundâncias e produção ocorreram na primavera, em decorrência de condições termohalinas mais favoráveis e a alta disponibilidade de alimento. Metamysidopsis elongata atlantica foi a espécie dominante numericamente, provavelmente por ser a única espécie de misídeo que consegue colonizar áreas de menor salinidade de forma efetiva, onde o alimento é mais abundante e as outras espécies de misídeos não ocorrem, evitando assim competição interespecífica e predação intraguilda. Metamysidopsis e. atlantica teve alta produção anual, fato que confirma a importância dos misídeos no fluxo de carbono em águas costeiras de regiões tropicas e subtropicais. Chlamydopleon dissimile, M. e. atlantica e Mysidopsis coelhoi tiveram comportamento alimentar oportunista sobre a comunidade de zooplâncton natural, mas houve evidência de que eles evitaram presas medindo entre 300 e 400 µm, compostas principalmente por Oithona spp. As taxas de ingestão tiveram um aumento não linear com o aumento da concentração de alimento, sugerindo resposta funcional do tipo II para as três espécies de misídeos. Houve tanto efeitos positivos (complementaridade) quanto negativos da combinação de espécies sobre a resposta alimentar das mesmas. Interações negativas estiveram provavelmente ligadas à predação intraguilda, resultando na redução da predação dos misídeos sobre o zooplâncton. Um aumento no número de espécies de predadores de misídeos resultou em um aumento na predação de misídeos em relação ao desempenho médio das monoculturas de predadores, mas não em comparação ao predador mais efetivo. Efeitos positivos da diversidade de predadores aumentaram com a heterogeneidade espacial, pois esta permitiu que efeitos de complementaridade interespecífica entre os predadores fossem melhor expressados. Além disso, a morte de predadores foi reduzida nos tratamentos com maior heterogeneidade espacial, provavelmente porque esta amenizou a ocorrência de predação intraguilda e/ou interações comportamentais negativas entre os predadores. E por último, efeitos de cascata trófica não foram observados, provavelmente em decorrência dos misídeos serem onívoros generalistas. / This thesis focuses on the role of mysids in coastal ecosystems. It considers aspects of their distribution, biology, and ecology, such as: zoogeographical distribution in the Southwest Atlantic; their population dynamics in the Cananeia estuary, exploring spatial and temporal distribution in relation to environmental variables and zooplankton abundance; reproductive traits, annual production and tolerance to salinity gradients; feeding rates, selectivity, and functional responses; inter- and intraspecific predation; and the suppression of mysid abundance by predators. Particular attention was put to the trophic role of mysids in the context of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning theory in ecology (BEF). Experimental approaches were employed to evaluate the effects of species richness of the mysid assemblage on their feeding selectivity and consumption fluxes. Also, the effect of species richness of the mysids predador assemblage was taken into account. Mysids are usually the dominant benthic epifauna in coastal waters, and thus they play a key role in marine coastal food webs. However, few studies focused on these organisms in the South American region: only 31 out of 1131 mysid species described worldwide have been registered in the Southwest Atlantic. In the Cananeia estuary, salinity and temperature were important factors influencing mysid spatio-temporal distribution. Higher abundance and production occurred in spring, when thermohaline conditions were more favorable and food availability was high. Metamysidopsis elongata atlantica was the numerically dominant species, probably because it is the single mysid species that effectively colonizes low salinity areas, where food is more abundant and other mysid species are absent, thus avoiding interspecific competition and intraguild predation. Metamysidopsis e. atlantica had high annual production values, confirming the importance of mysids in the carbon flux of tropical and subtropical coastal waters. Chlamydopleon dissimile, M. e. atlantica, and Mysidopsis coelhoi had opportunistic feeding behavior on the natural zooplankton assemblage, but there was evidence of avoidance of medium-size prey (300-400 µm), mostly comprised by Oithona spp. Ingestion rates showed a non-linear increase with increasing food concentrations, suggesting a type II functional response for the three mysid species. There were both positive (complementarity effect) and negative effects of species combinations on their feeding response. Negative interactions were probably linked to intraguild predation, resulting in a reduction of mysid predation over the zooplankton. An increase in the number of mysid predator species enhanced mysid suppression relative to the mean performance of predator monocultures, but not in comparison to the most effective predator. Positive effects of predator diversity increased with spatial heterogeneity, as it allowed interspecific complementarity effects between predators to be expressed. Moreover, mortality of predators was reduced in spatially heterogeneous treatments, most likely because it dampened intraguild predation and/or negative behavioral interactions between predators. Finally, trophic cascades were not observed, probably due to the omnivorous - generalist character of mysids.

Esta tese foca no papel dos misídeos em ecossistemas costeiros, considerando aspectos de sua distribuição, biologia e ecologia, tais como: distribuição zoogeográfica no Atlântico Sudoeste; dinâmica populacional dos misídeos no estuário de Cananéia, explorando sua distribuição espacial e temporal em relação às variáveis ambientais e abundância do zooplâncton; traços reprodutivos, produção anual e tolerância a gradientes de salinidade; taxas de alimentação, seletividade e respostas funcionais; predação inter- e intraespecífica; e predação sobre os misídeos. Atenção particular foi dada ao papel trófico dos misídeos no contexto da teoria da Biodiversidade e Funcionamento do Ecossistema em ecologia. Através de abordagens experimentais foram avaliados os efeitos da riqueza de espécies da comunidade de misídeos sobre sua seletividade alimentar e taxas de consumo. O efeito da riqueza de espécies da comunidade de predadores dos misídeos também foi considerado. Misídeos geralmente compõem a epifauna bêntica dominante em águas costeiras, tendo assim papel chave nas cadeias alimentares de regiões marinhas costeiras. No entanto, poucos estudos focaram esses organismos na América do Sul: apenas 31 de 1131 espécies de misídeos descritas no mundo foram registradas no Atlântico Sudoeste. No estuário de Cananéia, salinidade e temperatura foram parâmetros importantes na distribuição espacial e temporal dos misídeos. Maiores abundâncias e produção ocorreram na primavera, em decorrência de condições termohalinas mais favoráveis e a alta disponibilidade de alimento. Metamysidopsis elongata atlantica foi a espécie dominante numericamente, provavelmente por ser a única espécie de misídeo que consegue colonizar áreas de menor salinidade de forma efetiva, onde o alimento é mais abundante e as outras espécies de misídeos não ocorrem, evitando assim competição interespecífica e predação intraguilda. Metamysidopsis e. atlantica teve alta produção anual, fato que confirma a importância dos misídeos no fluxo de carbono em águas costeiras de regiões tropicas e subtropicais. Chlamydopleon dissimile, M. e. atlantica e Mysidopsis coelhoi tiveram comportamento alimentar oportunista sobre a comunidade de zooplâncton natural, mas houve evidência de que eles evitaram presas medindo entre 300 e 400 µm, compostas principalmente por Oithona spp. As taxas de ingestão tiveram um aumento não linear com o aumento da concentração de alimento, sugerindo resposta funcional do tipo II para as três espécies de misídeos. Houve tanto efeitos positivos (complementaridade) quanto negativos da combinação de espécies sobre a resposta alimentar das mesmas. Interações negativas estiveram provavelmente ligadas à predação intraguilda, resultando na redução da predação dos misídeos sobre o zooplâncton. Um aumento no número de espécies de predadores de misídeos resultou em um aumento na predação de misídeos em relação ao desempenho médio das monoculturas de predadores, mas não em comparação ao predador mais efetivo. Efeitos positivos da diversidade de predadores aumentaram com a heterogeneidade espacial, pois esta permitiu que efeitos de complementaridade interespecífica entre os predadores fossem melhor expressados. Além disso, a morte de predadores foi reduzida nos tratamentos com maior heterogeneidade espacial, provavelmente porque esta amenizou a ocorrência de predação intraguilda e/ou interações comportamentais negativas entre os predadores. E por último, efeitos de cascata trófica não foram observados, provavelmente em decorrência dos misídeos serem onívoros generalistas. / This thesis focuses on the role of mysids in coastal ecosystems. It considers aspects of their distribution, biology, and ecology, such as: zoogeographical distribution in the Southwest Atlantic; their population dynamics in the Cananeia estuary, exploring spatial and temporal distribution in relation to environmental variables and zooplankton abundance; reproductive traits, annual production and tolerance to salinity gradients; feeding rates, selectivity, and functional responses; inter- and intraspecific predation; and the suppression of mysid abundance by predators. Particular attention was put to the trophic role of mysids in the context of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning theory in ecology (BEF). Experimental approaches were employed to evaluate the effects of species richness of the mysid assemblage on their feeding selectivity and consumption fluxes. Also, the effect of species richness of the mysids predador assemblage was taken into account. Mysids are usually the dominant benthic epifauna in coastal waters, and thus they play a key role in marine coastal food webs. However, few studies focused on these organisms in the South American region: only 31 out of 1131 mysid species described worldwide have been registered in the Southwest Atlantic. In the Cananeia estuary, salinity and temperature were important factors influencing mysid spatio-temporal distribution. Higher abundance and production occurred in spring, when thermohaline conditions were more favorable and food availability was high. Metamysidopsis elongata atlantica was the numerically dominant species, probably because it is the single mysid species that effectively colonizes low salinity areas, where food is more abundant and other mysid species are absent, thus avoiding interspecific competition and intraguild predation. Metamysidopsis e. atlantica had high annual production values, confirming the importance of mysids in the carbon flux of tropical and subtropical coastal waters. Chlamydopleon dissimile, M. e. atlantica, and Mysidopsis coelhoi had opportunistic feeding behavior on the natural zooplankton assemblage, but there was evidence of avoidance of medium-size prey (300-400 µm), mostly comprised by Oithona spp. Ingestion rates showed a non-linear increase with increasing food concentrations, suggesting a type II functional response for the three mysid species. There were both positive (complementarity effect) and negative effects of species combinations on their feeding response. Negative interactions were probably linked to intraguild predation, resulting in a reduction of mysid predation over the zooplankton. An increase in the number of mysid predator species enhanced mysid suppression relative to the mean performance of predator monocultures, but not in comparison to the most effective predator. Positive effects of predator diversity increased with spatial heterogeneity, as it allowed interspecific complementarity effects between predators to be expressed. Moreover, mortality of predators was reduced in spatially heterogeneous treatments, most likely because it dampened intraguild predation and/or negative behavioral interactions between predators. Finally, trophic cascades were not observed, probably due to the omnivorous - generalist character of mysids.