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. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1621-3.
doi: 10.1126/science.1113075.

Trophic cascades in a formerly cod-dominated ecosystem

Kenneth T Frank  1 , Brian Petrie, Jae S Choi, William C Leggett
Affiliations

Trophic cascades in a formerly cod-dominated ecosystem

Kenneth T Frank et al. Science. .

Abstract

Removal of top predators from ecosystems can result in cascading effects through the trophic levels below, completely restructuring the food web. Cascades have been observed in small-scale or simple food webs, but not in large, complex, open-ocean ecosystems. Using data spanning many decades from a once cod-dominated northwest Atlantic ecosystem, we demonstrate a trophic cascade in a large marine ecosystem. Several cod stocks in other geographic areas have also collapsed without recovery, suggesting the existence of trophic cascades in these systems.

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