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Journal article
Pelagic food web realignment supports resilient larvae of Southern Bluefin Tuna in a warming ocean
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.123(35), e2601583123
2026
PMID: 42636360
Abstract
Many of the oceans’ top predatory fishes at low to mid latitudes face an uncertain future as their vulnerable larvae deal with higher environmental temperature and reduced productivity associated with climate change. However, ocean ecosystem models that predict a general decline of zooplankton prey with warming and stratification hardly ever account for complexities in pelagic food webs that might make them resilient in providing food resources for larvae. We illustrate such complexities in comparing feeding interactions of larval Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) between two studies conducted 35 y apart in the same spawning region off northwest Australia. In the first (1987), SBT larvae fed and grew at low rates demonstrably limited by zooplankton prey. In the second (2022), feeding and growth were significantly higher despite substantially warmer conditions. The difference reflects a realignment in larval feeding preference from copepods to appendicularians, which allows a more direct and efficient energy transfer pathway from the microbially dominated food web base to higher-level consumers. These findings reset thinking on bluefin larvae feeding preferences, demonstrate high growth on an appendicularian diet up to 30 °C, and align with predictions of appendicularians being an environmentally selected zooplankton category in warming oligotrophic waters.
Details
- Title
- Pelagic food web realignment supports resilient larvae of Southern Bluefin Tuna in a warming ocean
- Authors/Creators
- Michael R Landry - Scripps Institution of OceanographyRaúl Laiz-Carrión - Instituto Español de OceanografíaEstrella Malca - University of MiamiRasmus Swalethorp - Scripps Institution of OceanographyMoira Décima - Scripps Institution of OceanographyJosé M Quintanilla - Instituto Español de OceanografíaRicardo Borrego-Santos - Instituto Español de OceanografíaClaire H Davies - Health Sciences and NutritionSven A Kranz - Rice UniversityKaren E Selph - University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaMichael R Stukel - Florida State UniversityDavid Die - University of MiamiLynnath E Beckley - Murdoch UniversityBarbara A Muhling - University of California, Santa CruzAkihiro Shiroza - National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8648, JapanLindsey E Kim - Scripps Institution of OceanographyGrace F Cawley - Scripps Institution of OceanographyClaudia Traboni - Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnKamran Walsh - Scripps Institution of OceanographyAlejandro Jivanjee - University of MiamiLuke Matisons - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.123(35), e2601583123
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- OCE-1851381 / NSF | GEO | Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) OCE-1851558 / NSF | GEO | Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) OCE-1851395 / NSF | GEO | Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) PID2021/122862NB/100 UE-FEDER / Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN) OCE-1851347 / NSF | GEO | Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) OCE-2404504 / NSF | GEO | Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE)
- Identifiers
- 991005912895807891
- Copyright
- © 2026 the Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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