A macrodescriptor perspective of ecological attributes for the Bering and Barents Seas

Results show that the average number of trophic steps from primary producers to predators is shorter in the EBS. In the EBS, trophic pathways are shorter and more linear, there are more benthic species (flatfish and crabs) and there are both pelagic and benthic food webs. The BS is mainly a pelagic ecosystem. More production flows to the detritus pool in the BS most likely due to its deeper average depth (EBS: 50 m, BS: 200 m deep). The EBS is more efficient at converting primary production into upper trophic level biomass since there are fewer trophic steps and primary production fuels both the pelagic and benthic food webs. Commercial fish species biomass is greater in the EBS (7.6 mt) compared with BS (3.8 mt). Many alternate pathways exist in the BS, thus there are no single critical species creating bottlenecks. Results suggest that the BS may be more stable than the EBS.