Organisms accumulate major and trace elements (including metals) directly from the external environment and/or indirectly through diet. As such, their elemental composition can help to infer dietary preferences, solve trophic links and/or inform quantitative dietary analysis primarily based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes or on fatty acids (Lahaye et al. 2005, Ramos and González-Solís 2012, Soto et al. 2016, Majdi et al. 2018). This dataset reports the total concentrations of 30 major and trace elements analysed in whole bodies or in the muscle tissue of 82 unique species or genera characteristic of meso- to bathypelagic waters (referred as “mesopelagic”) or living on the continental shelf (referred as “other”). The species encompass jellyfish, crustaceans, cephalopods, fish, and were collected in North Atlantic and Mediterranean areas between 1968 and 2018. When available, the sampling method/gear as well as the sampling depth are specified. For the element mercury (Hg), the concentration of organic forms (referred as methyl-Hg) is also given when available, as well the percentage of these organic forms (% methyl-Hg) relative to total Hg. A column specifies whether concentrations are expressed on a dry weight or wet weight basis (weight of the animal tissue after being dried or containing water, respectively). All element concentrations given on a wet weight basis can be converted on a dry weight basis (and vice-versa if necessary) according to the percentages of moisture given for each sample analysed (when available). Data were compiled from 27 published studies/papers for which DOI are indicated, for further details and information on the samples analysed and/or the analytical techniques used.
Bulk stable isotope ratios, primarily of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), are increasingly used to examine predator-prey interactions and food web structure. We compiled δ13C and δ15N values of marine taxa from 56 published sources to support investigations on trophic interactions in mesopelagic food webs and assess the importance of mesopelagic organisms in the marine ecosystem. A total of 2095 records were collected, representing 8716 individual organisms from 349 unique species or genera sampled across the central and Northeast Atlantic, and the Mediterranean Sea, between 1905 and 2020. Records include 185 benthic and pelagic fish, 47 cephalopods, 31 marine mammals, 30 crustaceans, 26 elasmobranchs, 16 seabirds, 4 marine turtles, 4 jelly fish, 3 copepods, 2 salps, in addition to data from several organisms only identified to higher taxonomic ranks (family or above). The dataset includes isotopic ratios measured in the tissues or in the whole body of individual organisms, or mean values (and standard deviations) from pooled samples. Because lipids have more negative δ13C values relative to other major biochemical compounds in plant and animal tissues (DeNiro & Epstein, 1977), many studies correct for the lipid effect by extracting lipids from samples before analysis, or a posteriori, through mathematical corrections (Post, 2002). Therefore, δ13C values were reported as uncorrected, lipid-extracted, or mathematically-corrected. When available, the total organic carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) was included. For each data record, we also provided the sampling location, geographic coordinates, month and year of sample collection, method of sample collection, taxonomic ranks (phylum, class, order, family), number and size (or size range) of sampled organisms, as well as the reference and DOI of the original data source, for further details on the samples analysed and/or the analytical techniques used.
Fractional trophic levels (i.e., trophic positions) describe the position of organisms within food webs and help define their functional roles in ecosystems (Odum & Heald, 1975). Trophic positions are thus critical for characterizing species' diets and energy pathways, investigating food web dynamics and ecosystem functioning, and assessing ecosystem health and resilience (Pauly et al., 1998; Pauly & Watson, 2005; Vander Zanden & Fetzer, 2007). We compiled estimates of trophic positions of marine organisms sampled across North Atlantic and Mediterranean waters between 1974 and 2015, gathered from 33 published and unpublished sources. The dataset comprises 208 unique species or genera, including zooplankton, decapods, cephalopods, pelagic and benthic fish, elasmobranchs, marine mammals, marine turtles, seabirds, as well as detritus. Estimates of trophic position were based on the analyses of stomach contents, bulk nitrogen stable isotopes (δ15N values), or amino acid compound-specific nitrogen isotopic analysis. For each data record, we also provided the sampling location, geographic coordinates, month and year of sample collection, method of sample collection, taxonomic ranks (phylum, class, order, family), number and size (or size range) of sampled organisms, type of analyses and estimation method, as well as the reference and DOI of the original data source, for further details on the samples analysed and/or the analytical techniques used.
Fatty acid (FA) composition has increasingly been used to estimate the dietary preference of marine organisms. Specific fatty acids and fatty acid ratios serve as trophic markers (FATM) and have the potential to provide insights on the long-term dietary preference of organisms. FATM have been applied for this purpose on various zooplankton, fish and up to whales. We aim to build up a database of new and published data on fatty acid content of mesopelagic fish and their predators from the central and Northeast Atlantic, and the Mediterranean Sea, to use in FATM food web studies, investigating the importance of mesopelagic organisms as predators and prey in the marine ecosystem. Here we compiled FA content (i.e., the proportion of each FA measured in sampled tissues or in the whole body of organisms in relation to total FAs analysed) of 36 fish species or genera, 15 seabirds, five marine mammals, two cephalopods, one turtle, one jelly fish, and one shark. For each record, we included all FAs with values above 0.1% of total FAs and report the percentage values as provided in the original data source. Each data record is associated with information on the sampling location, geographic coordinates, month and year of sample collection, method of sample collection, taxonomic ranks (phylum, class, order, family), number and size (or size range) of sampled organisms, as well as the reference and DOI of the original data source, for further details on the samples analysed and/or the analytical techniques used.
Stomach contents analysis is a standard dietary assessment method that potentially enables quantifying diet components with high taxonomic resolution. We compiled diet compositions from stomach content analysis from 75 unique species or genera: 32 fish, 19 marine mammals, 14 elasmobranchs, 9 seabirds and one marine turtle. Data were gathered from 89 published sources that included samples collected between 1885 and 2016 throughout the central and Northeast Atlantic, and the Mediterranean Sea. When available, we reported the percentage number of individuals of a prey type as a proportion of the total number of prey items (%N), the proportion of a prey item by weight (%W), and the proportion of stomachs containing a particular prey item (i.e. percent frequency of occurrence, %F). For each data record, we also provided the sampling location, geographic coordinates, month and year of sample collection, method of sample collection, taxonomic ranks (phylum, class, order, family), number and size (or size range) of sampled organisms, as well as the reference and DOI of the original data source, for further details on the samples analysed and/or the analytical techniques used.
Mesopelagic organisms play a critical role in marine ecosystems, channelling energy and organic matter across food webs and serving as the primary prey for many open-ocean predators. Nevertheless, trophic pathways involving mesopelagic organisms are poorly understood and their contribution to food web structure remains difficult to assess (St. John et al., 2016). Existing data to assess mesopelagic feeding interactions and energy transfer are scattered in the literature or remain unpublished, making it difficult to locate and use such datasets. As part of the EU funded project SUMMER - Sustainable Management of Mesopelagic Resources H2020-BG-2018-2, GA: 817806) (https://summerh2020.eu/), we created MesopTroph, a georeferenced database of diet, trophic biogeochemical markers, and energy content of mesopelagic organisms and other marine taxa from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, compiled from 191 published and non-published sources. MesopTroph includes seven datasets: (i) diet compositions from stomach content analysis, (ii) stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C and δ15N), (iii) fatty acid trophic markers (FATM), (iv) major and trace elements, (v) energy density, (vi) estimates of diet proportions, and (vii) trophic positions. The database contains information from 4918 samples, representing 51119 specimens from 499 species or genera, covering a wide range of trophic guilds and taxonomic groups. Metadata provided for each record include the location, dates and method of sample collection, taxonomic ranks (phylum, class, order, family), number and size (or size range) of sampled organisms, method/model used in data analysis, reference and DOI of the original data source. Compiled data were checked for errors, missing information, and to avoid duplicate entries, and scientific names and taxonomy were standardized.
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