Most consumers in Beaufort Sea lagoons exhibit omnivorous (generalist) feeding strategies. Food web structure shifts with the seasons as food sources change from ice cover to open water. Multiple food sources provide sustenance to consumers including allochthonous (marine and terrestrial/ riverine organic matter) and autochthonous (microphytobenthic and phytoplankton) organic matter.
For Further Reading:
Connelly, TL et al. 2015. Seasonal changes in quantity and composition of suspended particulate organic matter in lagoons of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. doi: 10.3354/ meps11207
Dunton, KH et al. 2012. Food Web Structure of the Alaskan Nearshore Shelf and Estuarine Lagoons of the Beaufort Sea. Estuaries and Coasts. doi: 10.1007/s12237-012-9475-1 4.
Harris, CM et al. 2018. Do high Arctic coastal food webs rely on a terrestrial carbon subsidy? Food Webs. doi: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2018. e00081
Mohan, SD et al 2016. Seasonal trophic linkages in Arctic marine invertebrates assessed via fatty acids and compound-specific stable isotopes. Ecosphere. doi:10.1002/ecs2.1429