PubMed · 15947186
Trophic cascades in a formerly cod-dominated ecosystem.
Abstract
Removal of top predators from ecosystems can result in cascading effects through the trophic levels below, completely restructuring the food web. Cascades have been observed in small-scale or simple food webs, but not in large, complex, open-ocean ecosystems. Using data spanning many decades from a once cod-dominated northwest Atlantic ecosystem, we demonstrate a trophic cascade in a large marine ecosystem. Several cod stocks in other geographic areas have also collapsed without recovery, suggesting the existence of trophic cascades in these systems.
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Kenneth T Frank, Brian Petrie, Jae S Choi, William C Leggett. 2005-06-10. Trophic cascades in a formerly cod-dominated ecosystem.. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1113075
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