Effects of littoral habitat complexity on trophic structure

Effects of littoral habitat complexity on trophic structure | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of littoral habitat complexity on trophic structure Katya Kovalenko, Holly A. Wellard Kelly, Ryan Maki, Jaime LeDuc This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8564178/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The functional importance of habitat complexity and heterogeneity has wide-ranging implications for the restoration and protection of wetland habitats. The loss of littoral complexity due to shoreline modifications, water level fluctuations or invasive species may have negative consequences not only for biodiversity but also for ecosystem processes; however, little is known about the role of macrophyte complexity and bathymetric heterogeneity in supporting diverse food webs. To address this knowledge gap, we used stable isotopes to characterize the trophic niche of macroinvertebrate predators across a gradient of macrophyte complexity. Our results show a wide range in individual isotopic signatures within what is commonly averaged out as one minor trophic level of macroinvertebrate predators. Trophic position had a complex relationship with habitat attributes but was not strongly correlated with macrophyte canopy cover, and that deep and shallow vegetated areas only a few meters apart had distinctly different integrated food webs based on predator isotopic niches. Maximum trophic position and predator niche overlaps were not correlated with the coarse measures of complexity, potentially because of the truncated complexity gradient and lack of predators in the lowest-complexity habitats. These findings underscore the need to consider more individuals to capture the intra-guild variation in food web studies and are potentially transformative for interpreting foods webs constructed with the commonly used replication of three samples per guild (or major habitat). This study can also inform the design of future research aimed at advancing functional assessments of complex habitats increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stress. Structural complexity Habitat heterogeneity Individual variation Trophic niche Full Text Supplementary Files voyageursComplexitySI.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 23 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 21 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8564178","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":583116353,"identity":"84573d48-d985-49db-a13b-54f73eb9984b","order_by":0,"name":"Katya Kovalenko","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCcbGAxAWM4iWkCFGSwNYKQMDWwKI5iFCCwMDVAuPAYhPWIu5dHPDgZ977OoMzp/5/OpGjQUPA/vhoxvwabGcc7DhYM+zZAmDG7nbrHOOAR3Gk5Z2A58WgxuJDQd4DhwAauHdZpzDBtQiwWNGUMvBPyAt5888M875R6SWw2BbDuQwP85tI0KL5QygFpkDyZIzb6SZMef2SfCwEfKLuUT6w4dvDtjx850//Phzzrc6OX72w8fwOwyJzSYBJvEpR9fC/IGQ6lEwCkbBKBiZAAAhDk4PLVyEHgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7363-212X","institution":"University of Minnesota Duluth","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katya","middleName":"","lastName":"Kovalenko","suffix":""},{"id":583116354,"identity":"f13ebd77-c84d-4e02-988d-97740005bee7","order_by":1,"name":"Holly A. 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