Consequences of regime shifts for marine food webs

Climate-mediated ecological regime shifts can re-structure entire ecosystems from primary producers to top predators. As a consequence, major trophodynamic pathways change with the altered mix of dominating species. Four cases of ecosystem regime shifts forced by climate variability are presented (North Sea, central Baltic Sea, central North Pacific and Humboldt Current ecosystems) and the effect on food chains is elucidated. Different types of trophodynamic control mechanisms set in motion through the impact of climate variability and the potential impact of regime shifts on biogeochemical cycles are discussed.