
A recent increase in sea temperature has established a new ecosystem dynamic regime in the North Sea. Climate-induced changes in decapods have played an important role. Here, we reveal a coincident increase in the abundance of swimming crabs and lesser black-backed gull colonies in the North Sea, both in time and in space. Swimming crabs are an important food source for lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season. Inhabiting the land, but feeding mainly at sea, lesser black-backed gulls provide a link between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, since the bottom-up influence of allochthonous nutrient input from seabirds to coastal soils can structure the terrestrial food web. We, therefore, suggest that climate-driven changes in trophic interactions in the marine food web may also have ensuing ramifications for the coastal ecology of the North Sea.
Food Chain, Ecology, Brachyura, Climate, Climate Change, Population Dynamics, Temperature, Marine Biology, Plankton, Charadriiformes, Decapoda, Animals, Seawater, North Sea, Ecosystem, Environmental Monitoring
Food Chain, Ecology, Brachyura, Climate, Climate Change, Population Dynamics, Temperature, Marine Biology, Plankton, Charadriiformes, Decapoda, Animals, Seawater, North Sea, Ecosystem, Environmental Monitoring
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