scholarly journals A low trophic position of Japanese eel larvae indicates feeding on marine snow

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20120826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Miller ◽  
Yoshito Chikaraishi ◽  
Nanako O. Ogawa ◽  
Yoshiaki Yamada ◽  
Katsumi Tsukamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Source ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Particulate Material ◽  
Japanese Eel ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Marine Snow ◽  
Nitrogen Stable Isotope ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopic Composition ◽  
Isotope Studies

What eel larvae feed on in the surface layer of the ocean has remained mysterious. Gut contents and bulk nitrogen stable isotope studies suggested that these unusual larvae, called leptocephali, feed at a low level in the oceanic food web, whereas other types of evidence have suggested that small zooplankton are eaten. In this study, we determined the nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids of both natural larvae and laboratory-reared larvae of the Japanese eel to estimate the trophic position (TP) of leptocephali. We observed a mean TP of 2.4 for natural leptocephali, which is consistent with feeding on particulate organic matter (POM) such as marine snow and discarded appendicularian houses containing bacteria, protozoans and other biological materials. The nitrogen isotope enrichment values of the reared larvae confirm that the primary food source of natural larvae is consistent only with POM. This shows that leptocephali feed on readily available particulate material originating from various sources closely linked to ocean primary production and that leptocephali are a previously unrecognized part of oceanic POM cycling.

scholarly journals The mysterious feeding ecology of leptocephali: a unique strategy of consuming marine snow materials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsumi Tsukamoto ◽  
Michael J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Materials ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Egg Yolk ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Marine Snow ◽  
Formulated Diets ◽  
First Feeding ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractLeptocephalus larvae have transparent bodies with tubular intestines that usually lack identifiable food items when they are collected, so mystery has surrounded efforts to determine what they feed on. Artificially spawned and reared first-feeding larvae were found to be highly selective in what they would eat, but they would consume rotifers and eventually ate specially formulated diets that contained shark egg yolk. Gut content studies on wild-caught leptocephali in the Atlantic and Pacific observed marine snow-associated materials such as discarded appendicularian houses, zooplankton fecal pellets, protists, and amorphous materials, and DNA sequencing indicated that the gut contents contain materials originating from a wide range of microorganisms and food web zooplankton species that were likely consumed in marine snow. Isotopic studies found a low trophic position of leptocephali and inter-taxa and geographic signature differences. Behavioral studies with leptocephali and the characteristics and size-scaling of the teeth are also consistent with feeding on marine snow-related particles. The feeding strategy of leptocephali appears to be based on consuming types of marine snow that contain nutritious and easily assimilated carbohydrates, fatty acids, and other materials that facilitate rapid conversion to glycosaminoglycans and tissues for energy storage and growth.

scholarly journals 18S rRNA gene sequences of leptocephalus gut contents, particulate organic matter, and biological oceanographic conditions in the western North Pacific

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Watanabe ◽  
Satoshi Nagai ◽  
Yoko Kawakami ◽  
Taiga Asakura ◽  
Jun Kikuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
18S Rrna ◽  
18S Rrna Gene ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Marine Snow ◽  
Chlorophyll Maximum

AbstractEel larvae apparently feed on marine snow, but many aspects of their feeding ecology remain unknown. The eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene sequence compositions in the gut contents of four taxa of anguilliform eel larvae were compared with the sequence compositions of vertically sampled seawater particulate organic matter (POM) in the oligotrophic western North Pacific Ocean. Both gut contents and POM were mainly composed of dinoflagellates as well as other phytoplankton (cryptophytes and diatoms) and zooplankton (ciliophoran and copepod) sequences. Gut contents also contained cryptophyte and ciliophoran genera and a few other taxa. Dinoflagellates (family Gymnodiniaceae) may be an important food source and these phytoplankton were predominant in gut contents and POM as evidenced by DNA analysis and phytoplankton cell counting. The compositions of the gut contents were not specific to the species of eel larvae or the different sampling areas, and they were most similar to POM at the chlorophyll maximum in the upper part of the thermocline (mean depth: 112 m). Our results are consistent with eel larvae feeding on marine snow at a low trophic level, and feeding may frequently occur in the chlorophyll maximum in the western North Pacific.

scholarly journals Copepods act as omnivores in a (sub)tropical reservoir: Implication for the top-down effect on phytoplankton

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuqi Lin ◽  
Liang Peng ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Bo-Ping Han
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Zooplankton Community ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
Tropical Reservoir ◽  
Cascading Effect ◽  
Cladoceran Species ◽  
Grazing Effect ◽  
One Year

Tropical reservoirs in China receive a high input of organic matter from surrounding watersheds and this represents a significant resource for zooplankton consumers. Copepods are often the dominant zooplankton group in the tropical systems. Whether copepods tend to be omnivorous and their potential cascading effect on phytoplankton are subjects of debate. We used stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses to elucidate the allochthony and trophic positions of two copepod species (Phyllodiaptomus tunguidus and Mesocyclops thermocyclopoides) and one cladoceran species (Diaphanosoma orghidani) over a one-year period in a tropical oligo-mesotrophic reservoir in China. We assumed the filter-feeding D. orghidani was herbivorous and we used it as a baseline indicator of δ15N to estimate the trophic position of the two copepods. P. tunguidus and M. thermocyclopoides had an average trophic level that was 0.7 and 0.5 higher, respectively, than that of D. orghidani. M. thermocyclopoides showed seasonal differences in trophic position and an increase in trophic position with rising temperatures, whereas P. tunguidus remained omnivorous throughout the year. All three zooplankton species had a much higher degree of allochthony in the flood season than in the dry season, and their allochthony was positively related to the allochthony of the particulate organic matter input. The two copepods’ omnivorous behavior suggests their allochthony was primarily linked to microbial food web based on the input of terrestrial organic matter. The chlorophyll a to total phosphorus ratio was much higher when P. tunguidus dominated the zooplankton community than when D. orghidani dominated. The ratio was positively related to the ratio of omnivorous adult copepods to cladoceran biomass but not to the zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratio. Our results suggest that copepods tended to be omnivorous and relied heavily on allochthonous material in the study reservoir. The indirect cascading effect is likely to be stronger than the direct grazing effect, resulting in a positive effect of copepods on the phytoplankton.

scholarly journals Diet uniformity at an early farming community in northwest Anatolia (Turkey): carbon and nitrogen isotope studies of bone collagen at Aktopraklık

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2123-2135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Budd ◽  
Necmi Karul ◽  
Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg ◽  
Alfred Galik ◽  
Rick Schulting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Isotope Studies

Stable isotopes reveal post-release trophodynamic and ontogenetic changes in a released finfish, mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus)

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Taylor ◽  
Debashish Mazumder
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Nitrogen Stable Isotope ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopic Composition

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were analysed for hatchery-reared, recaptured and wild mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus, to investigate temporal and growth-related changes in isotopic composition for stocked fish after release, and to evaluate changes in isotopic composition in terms of ontogenetic dietary switches. δ13C and δ15N values decreased and increased, respectively, after release. The isotope composition of released fish was distinct from wild fish until 200 days after release, but after 200 days post-release fish did not differ significantly from wild fish of similar or greater sizes. Abrupt dietary transitions from crustaceans to teleost fish (>50 cm total length (TL)) were evident in a rapid δ13C and δ15N change in wild mulloway, and δ15N was significantly greater in wild fish >65 cm TL compared with wild fish <50 cm TL. Multivariate carbon and nitrogen isotopic data were suitable for separating stocked and wild fish for up to 200 days after release, but did not separate wild fish grouped according to dietary composition. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition closely reflected dietary transitions and rapid adaptation by stocked mulloway to wild diets, which was evident in a high tissue turnover rate of up to 0.017 day–1. Stable isotopes are a useful tool for examining the integration of released fish into stocked ecosystems and can be used to describe convergence in the diets of wild and released fish.

Effects of Bythotrephes on the trophic position of native macroinvertebrates

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie E. Foster ◽  
W. Gary Sprules
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Diet Overlap ◽  
Invertebrate Predators ◽  
Invasion Impacts ◽  
Isotopic Baseline ◽  
Zooplankton Communities

We measured the δ15N and δ13C stable isotopes of pelagic invertebrate predators in six central Ontario lakes, three invaded by Bythotrephes and three not invaded, to determine the effects of Bythotrephes invasion on diet overlap and trophic position of the predators. Seasonally averaged, lake-specific isotope signatures of bulk zooplankton were used as the isotopic baseline for determining nitrogen-based trophic position or carbon enrichment of the predators. Trophic positions of native Chaoborus , Leptodora , and Mysis in invaded lakes were not elevated compared with noninvaded lakes, suggesting that these predators do not feed directly on Bythotrephes. Nitrogen signatures of Mysis and Chaoborus were similar as were those of Leptodora and Bythotrephes, suggesting that invasion impacts will be greatest on Leptodora as has been observed. The trophic position of large Mysis was generally the highest and most variable of all predators, probably because it feeds on copepods that are more enriched in the heavier nitrogen isotope than bulk zooplankton and because Bythotrephes tends to decrease the ratio of cladocerans to copepods in invaded zooplankton communities.

Assessing trophic position from nitrogen isotope ratios: effective calibration against spatially varying baselines

2012 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Woodcock ◽  
David P. Edwards ◽  
Rob J. Newton ◽  
Felicity A. Edwards ◽  
Chey Vun Khen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Position ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Spatially Varying
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