Effects of terrestrial input on macrobenthic food webs of coastal sea are detected by stable isotope analysis in Gaeta Gulf

Stable isotope analysis (SIA) of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) was used to analyse the macrobenthic food web dynamics in the Gulf of Gaeta (Tyrrhenian sea, Central Italy) under the influence of discharge from the river Garigliano. Specimens of macrobenthic invertebrates and organic matter (Phytoplankton, detritus and Sediment Organic Matter, SOM) were sampled in eight subtidal sampling sites in the Gulf and subjected to SIA. Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Models were used to quantify the proportional contribution of each basal resource to macrobenthic primary consumer diets. The food web topology of each sampling site was also reconstructed and the key food web metrics (connectance, linkage density, mean chain length) were calculated in order to detect potential effects of the river plume at all trophic levels. The δ13C signatures of basal resources indicated that bulk organic matter in the Gulf has two main inputs: a) autochthonous, derived from marine primary producers (phytoplan