Community Food Research Articles

Community Food Systems and the Nutritional Status of Children 6-24 Months in Obunga Slums, Kisumu Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kenya is grappling with many public health problems; one of the most critical is childhood malnutrition. Underweight rates are 11%, stunting at 26%, and wasting at 4%. In Obunga slums, stunting was 40.2% for children below sixty months, underweight at 10.2%, and wasting at 9%. Globally, children between 6-24 months contribute the most to malnutrition among under-fives. Nevertheless, after 24 months, stunting, an indicator of chronic malnutrition, is irreversible. Obunga slums, compared to other slums in Kenya, registered the highest levels of stunting at 40.5% despite various interventions. Some of the risk factors that recurrently exist as determinants of nutritional status in urban slums are socio-demographic factors. Other potential factors that seem to be ignored are the food systems-related socio-demographics, which seem to be in constant aetiology. This study determined the relationship between community food systems and the nutritional status of children between 6-24 months. Specifically, to assess the nutritional status and determine the relationship between the community food system and nutritional status. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and households with a child aged 6-24 months in Obunga slums were included. A sample of 189 children was selected through a simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect data on community food systems. The anthropometric assessment was used to collect data on the nutritional status of the children. Data analysis was done through descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. The results reveal that the study had 189 children, 108 males and 81 females. Prevalence of wasting was at 3.2%, overweight at 6.9%, stunting at 27.0%, and underweight at 7.4%. Community Food Systems: An increase in the food sources increased the prevalence of underweight both at a (Crude O.R. =19.500, C.I. =1.61-236.61) and at an (A.O.R. = 21.331, C.I. =1.370-332.239). While frequency in the child consumption of food from restaurants/hotels increased wasting by 14 times (A.O.R of 14.52, C.I. = 1.39 -151.71 P<0.05). However, purchasing foods from restaurants and hotels reduced stunting by 0.13 times (A.O.R = 0.13, C.I. = 0.02 - 0.90, P<0.05). This study enumerated insight that may allow appropriate intervention programs to help align community food systems and mitigate child malnutrition in Obunga slums and other urban slums

How does community food growing build community bonds? Insights from grassroots visual storytelling

ABSTRACT Community food growing (CFG) builds community bonds and placemaking through emotional attachments. This process has been illuminated by grassroots visual storytelling, whereby CFG participants made short video stories about their experiences. The stories inspired community-building for better futures so as to encourage greater support for and participation in CFG. These stories were analysed to illuminate the social basis and roles of CFG. Participants” stories highlight some key aspects, namely: solidaristic mutual-aid relationships around food-growing, cooking, eating and distribution; cooperative, creative, adaptive capacities for collectively responding to common difficulties; empathetic bonds among participants across various differences (such as ethnicity, age and prior skills); a food culture strengthening participants’ knowledge and supply of healthy food; and the social-organisational skills for facilitating and inspiring those group practices. As these video stories show, community-building processes are radically hopeful: they acknowledge difficult issues and emotions, alongside aspirations for a different future. Together those roles helped to strengthen place-attachments for more participants. By screening the video stories, moreover, participants have made the process more visible and attractive. This provides a stronger basis to identify exemplary practices, extend their strengths, spread the societal benefits and attract greater commitments. Although many urban and peri-urban spaces are potentially available for expanding CFG, successful initiatives depend on social-organisational skills to facilitate self-confidence, empathetic cooperation and place attachments among volunteers. Support measures from Local Authorities are generally fragmented across several policy areas and so warrant integration. Community-building skills can provide a focus for such policy integration around the multiple roles and benefits of CFG initiatives.

Food-related worry and food bank use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: results from a nationally representative multi-round study

BackgroundEarly in the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one in five adults in Canada worried about having enough food to meet their household’s needs. Relatedly, throughout the pandemic, public messaging repeatedly urged Canadians to support food charities, including food banks. Yet few studies have examined food bank usage during the pandemic or whether food charities were widely used by Canadians worried about food access.MethodsThis study draws on four rounds of nationally representative surveying conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between May 2020 and December 2021 among adults 18 years and older living in Canada. Descriptive statistics were used to examine rates of food-related worry during all four survey rounds. Data from the fourth survey round, collected in December 2021, were used to explore use of food-based community programs since the onset of the pandemic, including food banks. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine differences in socio-demographic and health-related characteristics between adults who did and did not report accessing food banks before and after adjusting for household income.ResultsAcross survey rounds (n = 12,091), more than one in seven participants reported stress or worry related to having enough food to meet their household’s basic needs in the previous two weeks. Yet, by December 2021, fewer than 4% of participants reported ever accessing a food bank during the pandemic. Younger age, living with a child, financial concerns due to the pandemic, two different measures of food worry, pre-existing mental health conditions, disability, LGBT2Q + identity, and racialized or Indigenous identity, were each statistically significantly associated with higher odds of using food banks even when controlling for household income.ConclusionsDespite persistently high rates of food-related worry in 2020 and 2021 in Canada, relatively few adults reported accessing food banks or other charity-based community food programs. While respondents facing social, financial, and health-related inequities and reporting food worry were more likely to use food banks, most respondents did not report food bank use, regardless of financial or demographic circumstances or experiences of food worry. Findings align with previous research indicating that more adequate and comprehensive supports are needed to alleviate food-related-worry in Canada.

Stories of Sustenance, Nourishment, and Feasting

This article describes community formed within the grassroots mutual aid organization Community Food Support (CFS) located on lək̓ʷəŋən territory (“Victoria, B.C.”) and explores how components of mutual aid frameworks are employed within CFS Delivery Program’s sorting space to support the building of this community. An experiential study was constructed using a feminist activist ethnographic approach to outline the crucial role of storytelling in the CFS community. Through a thematic analysis of the data, stories of place and care addressed the research questions and pointed to the importance of connection, relationships, education, sharing, and play in establishing a collective identity and sustaining the organizing space. These findings were connected to civic muscle and creative placemaking, which highlight the capacity for mutual aid efforts to promote change and actively shape social, political, and geographic space through creative and relational means.

Beach Seine Fisheries in the United Arab Emirates on Sea of Oman

The catch of beach-seine operating in East Coast of the United Arab Emirates during the period from January to December 2022 was investigated. The catch composition was represented by 37 species belong to 22 families. Engraulidae, Leiognathidae, Clupeidae and Carangidae were the most dominants families, represented by 34.21, 22.62, 19.28 and 11.14% in mass respectively. A total of 46210kg of fish were caught by 41 beach seines in the study areas. Monthly CPUE ranged from 430 to 1446kg per operation. The highest CPUE was recorded in March, while the lowest CPUE was in July. In the present study, the average catch of beach seine was 1,127.07kg/haul/boat. In conclusion, the use of beach seines for fishing can help to sustainably manage fisheries by targeting specific populations of fish and reducing bycatch. It can also provide food and income for local communities.

Inter-household transfers of material goods among Sama "sea nomads" of the Philippines: Reciprocity, helping, signaling, or something else?

The extent to which humans share with both kin and non-kin is a defining characteristic of our species. Evolutionary research suggests that pervasive reliance on inter-individual transfers of goods and services may have evolved to support a cooperative breeding adaptation in humans. However, while intensive food sharing between individuals and families has frequently been investigated in small-scale human societies, a comprehensive analysis of the daily transfers of all material goods has not been attempted. Likewise, while much previous research on cooperative transfers focused on terrestrial foraging populations, less attention is paid to other small-scale economic modalities traditionally inhabited by humans. Drawing on over three years' worth of interviews and observational data from a community of primarily ethnic Sama people residing along the coast of Southern Mindanao Island in the Philippines, this paper examines the overall transfer patterns of material goods in a marine foraging economy. A quantitative description of resource acquisition is followed by an in-depth exploration of the characteristics of individual households and household dyads who gave and/or received more during the study period. Results indicate that a household's age and income are consistently correlated with increased inflow and outflow of material goods. Results also suggest differential motivations underlie inter-household sharing of food, money, and other goods in the study community. Most importantly, we find that both daily and long-term reciprocity overwhelmingly drive sharing within household dyads in the study community, despite secondary effects of kinship, relative need, and relative household age between household dyads.

Resilience in the face of crisis: investigating COVID-19 impacts on urban community gardens in Greater Toronto Area, Canada

PurposeUrban community gardens (UCGs) are important sources of community, food and greenspaces in urban environments. Though UCGs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Ontario, Canada, were considered essential during the COVID-19 lockdowns and therefore open to gardeners, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and UCG use among garden members and managers is not fully understood.Design/methodology/approachThis was an exploratory qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven managers and eight members of nine gardens in the GTA. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.FindingsThe results suggest that UCGs helped participants be resilient to COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors through the provision of cultural ecosystem services. Therefore, this study supports the current literature that UCGs can help foster resilience during crises. While participants in this study did not end up being food insecure, participants did express concern about community food security.Practical implicationsResults contribute to the current body of literature, and can be used to further update and develop UCG policies, as well as help develop UCG infrastructure and management strategies for future crises.Originality/valueThe impacts of the pandemic on Canadian UCGs are not well understood. This research paper investigated the impact of the pandemic on UCG use and food security, as well as the link between UCG use and increased resilience to COVID-19-related stressors.

Small urban fragments maintain complex food webs of litter-dwelling arthropods in a subtropical city in China

Urbanization-induced environmental changes such as habitat fragmentation impact arthropod assemblages and food web-related ecosystem functions, such as nutrient cycling and energy fluxes. Yet, we lack insight into how arthropod food webs are structured along urban fragmentation gradients. Here, we investigated the community composition and food web structure of litter-dwelling arthropods along fragmentation gradients (green median strip, i.e. green fragments in the middle of roads, urban park, urban forest and natural forest) in Xiamen City, southeast China. We found the density of litter-dwelling arthropods in median strips and urban parks to be two to four times higher than in urban and natural forests, with, as indicated by literature-based stable isotope values, 67%–68% of the individuals comprising primary consumers (trophic level I). Consequently, more complex food webs were found in small urban fragments (i.e., green median strip and urban park) than in the other fragments studied, including higher linkage density and higher energy flux. The biomass of litter on the floor was significantly correlated with the density of arthropods of trophic levels I, III and IV, and each trophic guild positively correlated with each other pointing to the dominance of bottom-up forces. Overall, our results suggest that small urban fragments maintain a high density of arthropods forming complex food webs and thereby may contribute to maintaining high energy fluxes and providing important ecosystem functions in urban areas.

Raising awareness and advocating change: The work of Nova Scotia food security NGOs

Although Nova Scotia nongovernmental organiza­tions (NGOs) have been working on local food security for many years, there is limited research that has analyzed their activities and impacts. Employing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) four dimensions of food security—food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability—to guide data collec­tion and analysis, we examined the work of nine Nova Scotia NGOs through document analysis, media analysis, and interviews with NGO repre­sentatives. We categorized the findings according to two broad themes of raising community aware­ness and conducting research/policy advocacy, and two more focused themes of partnerships and funding. We then discussed the rich array of food security “orientations” throughout the province, spanning community food security, household food insecurity, food justice, food sovereignty, and policy work. We found that the FAO’s four crite­ria, based as they are on larger scales (e.g., the national level), could not easily capture the myriad commu­nity-level food security work in Nova Sco­tia. We did note, however, that at the subnational level, indicators point to the continued dominance of the agri-food system in the province. We suggest that the relations forged by the food security NGOs with local universities and civic organiza­tions could be reinvigorated in the post-COVID era with longer-term, joined-up sustainable food policy approaches coupled with institutional mapping of key actors.

Impacts of USDA-NIFA’s Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program: Improving Food and Nutrition Security of Americans

Impacts of USDA-NIFA’s Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program: Improving Food and Nutrition Security of Americans

Pengaruh Ketahanan Pangan Terhadap Inflasi Khususnya Produk Cabai

The purpose of this writing is to provide a real picture of community food security against inflation, in this case the chili plant. The research method used by the author is to use a survey method where the condition of chili prices in traditional markets is the object of study. Inflation is a situation where the purchasing power of a community The country experienced a decline because the country's currency exchange rate was declared to have decreased. This happened because of several things, one of which was because the prices of goods and services continued to increase because demand was higher than supply. If this is not anticipated, the country will experience a financial deficit because it has to balance price balance. Food sources are a need for every living creature, in this case food humans who have culture and tastes consume food according to tradition and culture. Chilli is one of the products. with a characteristic spicy taste that almost every human being is looking for in complementary food products, demand and supply greatly influence prices, certain product ingredients are needed by many people but the products are limited, so there will be an increase in prices. Problem: Can inflation be controlled with resilience? One of the food sources is the cultivation of chili products.
 

Evaluation of breastfeeding and infant feeding attitudes among syrian refugees in Turkey: observations of Syrian healthcare workers

BackgroundThe influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey has highlighted the importance of supporting breastfeeding practices among this vulnerable population. We aimed to evaluate the breastfeeding and infant feeding attitudes of Syrian mothers based on the observations of Syrian healthcare workers (HCWs).MethodsAn online form including 31 questions was prepared in Turkish, Arabic, and English languages and distributed to HCWs, working in refugee health centers via e-mail, WhatsApp, or text message with the help of Ministry of Health in Turkey between January 2020 and March 2020. The questions were about HCWs’ characteristics (occupation, region of employment, duration of employment, participation in breastfeeding counseling course) and about HCWs’ observations of Syrian mothers’ breastfeeding and infant feeding practices.ResultsA total of 876 HCWs were included in the study; about 37.3% were physicians. Only 40.0% of HCWs reported that babies were predominantly fed with breast milk in the first three days after birth, 45.2% of HCWs indicated that mothers typically used sugary water as a prelacteal food, and 30.5% believed that breastfeeding was discontinued before 12 months. The main barriers to breastfeeding identified by HCWs included the lack of education, mental and physical health issues in the mother, food insecurity, low income, inadequate housing, lack of family planning, sociocultural environment, and limited access to quality health services. For complementary feeding, 28.0% of HCWs stated early introduction and 7.4% remarked delayed. HCWs believed grains, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products as top three foods for starting complementary food (59.5%, 47.8%, and 30.3% respectively). Healthcare challenges of Syrian pregnant and lactating mothers were reported to be associated primarily with “food, finance, and housing difficulties”, low maternal education, and cultural and environmental issues. HCWs recommended various solutions, such as supporting breastfeeding, offering nutrition and health support, promoting family planning, improving healthcare systems through legislation, and addressing cultural barriers.ConclusionsTo address breastfeeding issues among Syrian mothers, it is crucial to provide breastfeeding training to both HCWs and mothers. Expanding interventions that support breastfeeding-friendly practices, including community support and food aid for breastfeeding mothers, should also be considered to address the social determinants of breastfeeding.

Comparison of Caregiver and Provider Food Insecurity Screening Preferences Within a Health System.

Food insecurity is a public health concern associated with poor health. Evidence guiding how to best implement screening for food insecurity across a pediatric health care system is lacking. We performed a single-center, multi-department, cross-sectional study of caregivers and health care providers in outpatient and inpatient settings to describe the beliefs, barriers, preferences, and preferred food insecurity screening location. Most providers and caregivers underestimated the pervasiveness of food insecurity while acknowledging the benefit of screening. Caregivers are overall receptive to food insecurity screening and disagree with feelings of discomfort or shame when disclosing food insecurity status. Providers acknowledged perceived caregiver discomfort, lack of community food resources, and lack of a validated screening tool as barriers to screening. Both caregivers and providers identified the primary care setting as the preferred screening setting.

Diversity of wild edible fruits in the agroforestry area of Cigalontang Village, Tasikmalaya, Indonesia

Abstract. Kulsum NNS, Susandarini R. 2023. Diversity of wild edible fruits in the agroforestry area of Cigalontang Village, Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24: 4161-4167. Wild edible fruits are non-timber forest products that support the nutritional adequacy of communities around the forest. Scientific inventory and documentation of wild fruit plant diversity are important to reveal local resources' potential in supporting local communities food security. A study on wild edible fruits in the agroforestry area in Cigalontang Village aimed to document the diversity of fruit plant species and traditional knowledge of the community on food plants available from the forest. This study used semi-structured interviews with 63 respondents and guided fieldwork to identify natural habitats and collect specimens of wild edible fruits. The results showed that people of Cigalontang Village commonly consumed 49 wild edible fruit species belonging to 27 families. Zingiberaceae and Moraceae were two families with the highest number of wild edible fruit species mentioned by the respondents. All the fruits were consumed raw as fresh fruits, and some were known as ingredients for traditional medicine to treat minor health complaints. The community discussed the use of wild edible fruits with a review of the nutritional content based on relevant references. Results showed that the community used wild edible fruits for daily nutritional needs, not for sale. Both older and younger generations shared knowledge about the diversity of wild edible fruit plants and were closely related to local traditions kept within the frame of local wisdom. This knowledge, supported by local wisdom held by the community, is important to maintain the sustainability of fruit plant diversity and its conservation.

Risk Factors in the Natural Habitat of Fish: A Review

Fish can be found in abundance in most bodies of water. Despite the fact that no species has yet been detected in the deepest 25% of the ocean, they are present in almost every aquatic environment, from the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans (where they can be found as cusk-eels and snailfish) to the high mountain streams. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss. The rise in nutrient loading, particularly nitrogen, is one of the main factors contributing to habitat degradation. Trawling diminishes the environment’s complexity by removing sedimentary features and biogenic structures like sponges, bryozoans, and shell aggregates. The construction of dams on tidal rivers has harmed estuarine habitat: estuary community structure, water chemistry, food webs, and loss of freshwater and estuary habitats. Since 1950, the catch of fishes associated with coral reefs has declined by 60% per unit of effort. Ever growing human populations and acidity have significantly impacted fish diversity. The literature reviewed unequivocally demonstrated how anthropogenic effects have altered ichthyofauna and reduced biodiversity in aquatic environments around the globe. Identifying current and potential habitat hazards and the conservation and improvement actions required to eliminate or minimise those concerns is crucial in determining important fish habitats.

Literacy Research, Systems Thinking, and Climate Change

This article posits the need for literacy research on teachers’ and students’ use of systems thinking for studying climate change. Drawing on sociocultural activity theory of learning, it perceives the need for engaging in systems thinking given the negative impacts of energy, transportation and community design, agriculture and food production, and economics and politics systems themselves on ecosystems—for example, the negative effects of fossil fuel energy systems on emissions production. Researchers could analyze teachers’ and/or students’ use of the following components derived from activity theory for analyzing these systems: objects and outcomes, roles, tools, rules and norms, and beliefs and discourses. For example, teachers and students may employ language for naming phenomena about climate change, responding to literature, engaging in media production, or using emissions mapping tools to critique status-quo systems and use those tools to portray ways of transforming those systems. They may also engage in critical inquiry of rules and norms or beliefs and discourses derived from capitalist economic systems that promote excessive consumption with detrimental environmental impacts and attempts in the political system to resist instruction on climate change.

Evaluating a Campus Food Pantry’s Potential Impact on Nutrition Security using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Framework

BackgroundCampus food pantries are uniquely positioned to promote health equity with the foods they make accessible to food-insecure students. ObjectivesThis study assessed the implementation and effectiveness of a client-choice campus food pantry to understand its potential impact on nutrition security and to inform future implementation. MethodsThis observational study was designed using the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework, leveraging administrative data collected from a client-choice campus food pantry at a large Midwest university from August 2020 to May 2022. Pantry staff tracked student usage and item inventory. Items were analyzed for specific nutrients using the Nutrition Data System for Research. The mean nutrients and servings per food group distributed per visit were calculated and compared with dietary recommendations (effectiveness). Characteristics of pantry operation and setup were detailed (adoption). The percentage of openings with adequate stock to meet distribution guidelines was determined (implementation). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and multiple linear regressions determined whether significant changes in nutrients and food were distributed based on distribution guidelines and stock available. ResultsEffectiveness: Vitamin D, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains were below 3 d of the recommended intake for all students, and energy, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, and grains were low for male students. Adoption: The pantry was established through a collaboration with a pre-existing community food pantry and operates as a 501(c) and is managed by campus recreation staff. Implementation: The pantry supplied enough produce for 72% of openings to meet distribution guidelines and enough dairy for 63% of openings. ConclusionsThe food and nutrients distributed in limited amounts are consistent with those underconsumed according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. More research is needed to understand how pantry implementation can best support nutrition security through the adequate distribution of key nutrients and food groups.

The relationship between social capital and food security in farmer households (case study: Sedayulawas Village, Lamongan Regency – Indonesia)

Sedayulawas Village is one of the villages contributed to the positive growth of Lamongan Regency in the fourth quarter of 2020. It has been named the selected pilot project for eradicating extreme poverty with the target of increasing community food security. However, this program was not supported by the relationship between farmers and farmer group leaders, as the trust of farmers to the group leaders were low since they couldnot protect farmers from many conflicts within the group. To ensure the success of programs of food security, the social capital of among farmers was an alternative mechanism for the community to increase food security. This study aimed to reveal how the contribution of the social capital of farmer households to food security in the Food Self-Sufficiency Program in Sedayulawas Village, Brondong District, Lamongan Regency. Descriptive statistical analysis to determine food security conditions were done using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) followed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The result showed that there is a direct and indirect relationship between social capital and food security which has a significant value at the 5% test level. The food utilization variable explained 86.6% of farmers’ food security variability and the results of t-test showed that social capital has a significant effect in supporting the food security program for farmers in Sedayulawas Village.

Dynamic Governance in increasing Millennial Participation Food Independent South Sumatra Movement Program (GSMP)

Appropriate measures to address food security at the local level can be designed and implemented, understanding people's perceptions and judgments about their food security, will have practical implications for designing better interventions to improve community food security. This study uses a qualitative methodology through interviews, and then the data is coded using Nvivo 12 Plus. To realize this, the Province of South Sumatra implemented the South Sumatra Self-Sufficient Food Movement through efforts to change the community's mindset from "buyers" to "producers" covering the cultivation of plants, fish, and poultry. However, its implementation is still experiencing many obstacles, including beneficiaries still focusing on their main activities to earn income so that the assistance received has not been utilized optimally, GSMP socialization has not been optimal for beneficiaries, field assistance related to plant and fish cultivation has not been optimal, as well as assistance provided services provided have not been fully adapted to field conditions and beneficiary skills. So, it is expected to be able to recommend solutions for implementing the South Sumatra Independent Food Movement Program (GSMP), especially in Palembang City. This study concludes that millennial participation in the South Sumatra Independent Food Movement is relatively high and is influenced by factors such as interest, knowledge, and community involvement. Thus, further efforts are needed to increase interest, knowledge, and community involvement in this program to achieve the goals of the South Sumatra Independent Food Movement.

Habitat isolation interacts with top-down and bottom-up processes in a seagrass ecosystem.

Habitat loss is accelerating at unprecedented rates, leading to the emergence of smaller, more isolated habitat remnants. Habitat isolation adversely affects many ecological processes independently, but little is known about how habitat isolation may interact with ecosystem processes such as top-down (consumer-driven) and bottom-up (resource-driven) effects. To investigate the interactive influence of habitat isolation, resource availability and consumer distribution and impact on community structure, we tested two hypotheses using invertebrate and algal epibionts on temperate seagrasses, an ecosystem of ecological and conservation importance. First, we hypothesized that habitat isolation will change the structure of the seagrass epibiont community, and isolated patches of seagrass will have lower epibiont biomass and different epibiont community composition than contiguous meadows. Second, we hypothesized that habitat isolation would mediate top-down (i.e., herbivory) and bottom-up (i.e., nutrient enrichment) control for algal epibionts. We used observational studies in natural seagrass patches and experimental artificial seagrass to examine three levels of habitat isolation. We further manipulated top-down and bottom-up processes in artificial seagrass through consumer reductions and nutrient additions, respectively. We indeed found that habitat isolation of seagrass patches decreased epibiont biomass and modified epibiont community composition. This pattern was largely due to dispersal limitation of invertebrate epibionts that resulted in a decline in their abundance and richness in isolated patches. Further, habitat isolation reduced consumer abundances, weakening top-down control of algal epibionts in isolated seagrass patches. Nutrient additions, however, reversed this pattern, and allowed a top-down effect on algal richness to emerge in isolated habitats, demonstrating a complex interaction between patch isolation and top-down and bottom-up processes. Habitat isolation may therefore shape the relative importance of central processes in ecosystems, leading to changes in community composition and food web structure in marine habitats.