Complex food webs in highly diversified coral reefs: Insights from δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes

We studied the trophic network architecture of the coral reef ecosystem of the New Caledonian lagoon. To encompass the main tropic levels, we assayed carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in various organic matter sources, intermediate consumers (invertebrates and fish), and 19 species of predatory fish (total of 1229 samples). At each level, wide range of variations for δ13C and δ15N suggested multiple sources for the OM, and complex trophic...