DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2r23r
title: Data from: Detrital shadows: estuarine food web connectivity depends on fluvial influence and consumer feeding mode

description: We measured the influence of landscape setting on estuarine food web
 connectivity in five macrotidal Pacific Northwest estuaries across a
 gradient of freshwater influence. We used stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N,
 δ34S) in combination with a Bayesian mixing model to trace primary
 producer contributions to suspension- and deposit-feeding bivalve
 consumers (Mytilus trossulus and Macoma nasuta) transplanted into three
 estuarine vegetation zones: emergent marsh, mudflat, Japanese eelgrass
 (Zostera japonica), and native eelgrass (Zostera marina). Fluvial
 discharge and consumer feeding mode strongly influenced the strength and
 spatial scale of observed food web linkages, while season played a
 secondary role. Mussels displayed strong cross-ecosystem connectivity in
 all estuaries, with decreasing marine influence in the more fluvial
 estuaries. Mussel diets indicated homogenization of detrital sources
 within the water column of each estuary. In contrast, the diets of benthic
 deposit-feeding clams indicated stronger compartmentalization in food web
 connectivity, especially in the largest river delta where clam diets were
 trophically disconnected from marsh sources of detritus. This suggests
 detritus deposition is patchy across space, and less homogenous than the
 suspended detritus pool. In addition to fluvial setting, other
 estuary-specific environmental drivers, such as marsh area or particle
 transport speed, influenced the degree of food web linkages across space
 and time, often accounting for unexpected patterns in food web
 connectivity. Transformations of the estuarine landscape that alter river
 hydrology or availability of detritus sources can thus potentially disrupt
 natural food web connectivity at the landscape scale, especially for
 sedentary organisms which cannot track their food sources through space.
description: Puget Sound nearshore
 isotope databaseThis csv file contains
 individual stable isotope records for primary producers and estuarine
 consumer organisms collected between 2006 and 2012 in Puget Sound,
 Washington, USA. Stable isotopes of d13C, d15N, and d34 S are available,
 as well as C, N, and S content and CN ratio. The following species are
 included, documented by day, month, year, high/low fluvial discharge
 period, estuary, location within an estuary, species, and tissue: Acer
 circinatum, Alnus rubra, Atriplex patula, Battelaria attrementaria,
 Caprella laeviscula, Carex lyngbyei, Ceramium sp., Cladophora sp.,
 Clinocardium nuttalii, Cotula coronopifolia, Crangon franciscorum,
 Deschampsia caespitosa, Diatoms (benthic), Distichlis spicata,
 Enteromorpha sp., Fucus distichus, Glaux maritima, Grindelia stricta,
 Juncus balthica, Lonicera involucrata, Macoma nasuta, Mya arenaria, Myrica
 gale, Mytilus sp. (edulis or galloprovincialis or hybrid), Parophrys
 vetulus, Phytoplankton, Potentilla pacifica, Protothaca staminea,
 Salicornia virginica, Salix spp., Scirpus acutus, Scirpus americanus,
 Scirpus maritimus, Scirpus validus, Sygnathus griseolineatus, Triglochin
 maritima, Typha, Ulva fenestrata, Venerupis phillipinarum, Zostera
 japonica, Zostera marina,Master_Isotope_Database.csv