[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Pacific Bluefin Tuna maintain trophic stability despite shifting diet composition over 12 years in the California Current Ecosystem

## Details

**Authors** Richards et al.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Scientific Reports

**Discipline** Ecology

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66804-7) 
10.1038/s41598-026-66804-7

## In authors' words

### What they found (results)

Stomach-content and isotope analysis over 12 years found tuna diet composition shifted markedly from cephalopod-dominated to anchovy- and deep-sea-fish-dominated, yet trophic position estimates (4.3-4.7) remained stable throughout.

## Commentary

### In short

A system-level relational property (trophic position) can stay invariant even as the specific parts composing it (prey species) are substantially swapped out, showing the whole's function is decoupled from its particular parts.

**Patterns it shows** D, S

**Added** 2026-08-23

**How to cite this** Richards et al. (2026). Pacific Bluefin Tuna maintain trophic stability despite shifting diet composition over 12 years in the California Current Ecosystem. Scientific Reports.