Variability in copepod trophic levels and in feeding selectivity based on stable isotope analysis in Gwangyang Bay off the southern coast of Korea
Abstract. Trophism (i.e., food resources and trophic levels) of different copepod groups was assessed along a salinity gradient in the temperate estuarine Gwangyang Bay of Korea, based on seasonal investigation of taxonomic results in 2015 and stable isotope analysis incorporating multiple linear regression models. The δ13C and δ15N values of copepods in the bay displayed salinity-associated spatial heterogeneity as well as temperature-related seasonal variations. Both spatial and temporal variations reflected those in isotopic values of food sources. Three major groups (marine calanoids, brackish water calanoids and cyclopoids) had a mean trophic level of 2.2 relative to nanoplankton as the basal food source, similar to the bulk copepod assemblage; however, they had dissimilar food sources based on the different δ13C values. Calanoid isotopic values indicated a mixture of different genera including species with high δ15N values (e.g., Sinocalanus and Labidocera) and relatively low δ15N values (Paracalanus and Acartia). Feeding preferences of different copepods probably explain these seasonal and spatial patterns of the community trophic niche. Bayesian mixing model calculations based on source materials of two size fractions of particulate organic matter (nanoplankton at