MesopTroph, a database of trophic parameters to study interactions in mesopelagic food webs

11 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables.-- Data have been made available through the EU funded project SUMMER (H2020-BG-2018-2, proposal number: 817806-2)

Mesopelagic organisms play a crucial role in marine food webs, channelling energy across the predator-prey network and connecting depth strata through their diel vertical migrations. The information available to assess mesopelagic feeding interactions and energy transfer has increased substantially in recent years, owing to the growing interest and research activity in the mesopelagic realm. However, such data have not been systematically collated and are difficult to access, hampering estimation of the contribution of mesopelagic organisms to marine ecosystems. Here we present MesopTroph, a georeferenced database of diet, trophic markers, and energy content of mesopelagic and other marine taxa compiled from 203 published and non-published sources. MesopTroph currently includes data on stomach contents, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, major and trace elements, energy density, fatty acids, trophic positions, and diet proportion estimates for 498 species/genera. MesopTroph will be expanded with new data emerging from ongoing studies. MesopTroph provides a unique tool to investigate trophic interactions and energy flow mediated by mesopelagic organisms, and to evaluate the ecosystem services of this community

MAS and SPJ were supported by SUMMER (H2020-BG-2018-2, proposal number: 817806-2). MAS and AC were supported by the OP AZORES2020, through the Fund 01-0145-FEDER-1279 000140 “MarAZ Researchers: Consolidate a body of researchers in Marine Sciences in the Azores” of the European Union. AC was also supported by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through project CEECIND/00101/2021. AB was supported by SUMMER (H2020-BG-2018, proposal number: 817806). MPO and AB acknowledge the support of their institution through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S). JS and TC were supported by SUMMER (H2020-BG-2018, proposal number: 817806) and additional financial backing was provided by the French Ministry in charge of the environment. TS was supported by the US National Science Foundation. The A.P. Sloan Foundation and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, supported the MAR-ECO sampling effort. Okeanos is funded by FCT under the project UIDB/05634/2020 and UIDP/05634/2020, and by the Regional Government of the Azores through the initiative to support the Research Centers of the University of the Azores and through project M1.1.A/REEQ.CIENTÍFICO UI&D/2021/010

Peer reviewed