Data from: Breaking out of the comfort zone: El Niño Southern Oscillation as a driver of trophic flows in a benthic consumer of the Humboldt Current ecosystem

The trophic flow of a species is considered a characteristic trait reflecting its trophic position and function in the ecosystem and its interaction with the environment. However, climate patterns are changing and we ignore how patterns of trophic flow are being affected. In the Humboldt Current ecosystem, arguably one of the most productive marine systems, El Niño-Southern Oscillation is the main source of interannual and longer-term variability. To assess the effect of this variability on trophic flow we built a 16-year series of mass-specific somatic production rate (P/B) of the Peruvian scallop (Argopecten purpuratus), a species belonging to a former tropical fauna that thrived in this cold ecosystem. A strong increase of the P/B ratio of this species was observed during nutrient-poor, warmer water conditions typical of El Niño, owing to the massive recruitment of fast-growing juvenile scallops. Trophic ecology theory predicts that when primary production is nutrient limited, the trophic flow of organisms occupying low trophic levels should be constrained (bottom-up control). For former tropical fauna thriving in cold, productive upwelling coastal zones, a short time of low food conditions but warm waters during El Niño could be sufficient to waken their ancestral biological features and display massive proliferations.物种的营养流是反映其在生态系统中的营养级位置与生态功能，以及与环境间相互作用的特征性状。然而，当前气候模式正发生改变，我们尚不清楚营养流格局正受到何种影响。作为公认的全球生产力最高的海洋生态系统之一，洪堡洋流生态系统中，厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（El Niño-Southern Oscillation）是年际及更长时间尺度变异性的主要驱动因子。为评估该变异性对营养流的影响，我们构建了针对秘鲁扇贝（Argopecten purpuratus）的为期16年的单位质量躯体生产速率（mass-specific somatic production rate，缩写为P/B）序列——该物种属于一类曾在该寒冷生态系统中繁盛的热带动物区系类群。观测发现，在厄尔尼诺典型的贫营养、暖水环境下，该物种的P/B比显著升高，这一现象源于快速生长的幼龄扇贝的大规模补充。营养生态学理论预测：当初级生产受营养盐限制时，处于低营养级的生物的营养流应受到上行控制（bottom-up control）。对于栖息于寒冷且生产力旺盛的上升流沿岸带的原热带动物区系类群而言，厄尔尼诺期间短暂的低食物环境搭配暖水条件，或足以唤醒其祖先的生物学特性，进而引发大规模种群增殖。