Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Dining in the Deep: The Feeding Ecology of Deep-Sea Fishes

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2017

Publication Title

Annual Review of Marine Science

Keywords

Trophic guilds, Feeding rates, Trophic biomarkers, Vertical carbon flux, Food webs

ISSN

1941-1405

Volume

9

First Page

337

Last Page

366

Abstract

Deep-sea fishes inhabit ∼75% of the biosphere and are a critical part of deep-sea food webs. Diet analysis and more recent trophic biomarker approaches, such as stable isotopes and fatty-acid profiles, have enabled the description of feeding guilds and an increased recognition of the vertical connectivity in food webs in a whole-water-column sense, including benthic-pelagic coupling. Ecosystem modeling requires data on feeding rates; the available estimates indicate that deep-sea fishes have lower per-individual feeding rates than coastal and epipelagic fishes, but the overall predation impact may be high. A limited number of studies have measured the vertical flux of carbon by mesopelagic fishes, which appears to be substantial. Anthropogenic activities are altering deep-sea ecosystems and their services, which are mediated by trophic interactions. We also summarize outstanding data gaps.

ORCID ID

0000-0002-5280-7071

DOI

10.1146/annurev-marine-010816-060543

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Peer Reviewed

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