Feeding behaviour of adult Centropages hamatus (Copepoda, Calanoida): Functional response and selective feeding experiments

The feeding behaviour of adults of the marine calanoid copepod Centropages hamatus was studied in laboratory experiments with ciliates and phytoplankton as food sources. The ingestion rate of algal (flagellates, diatoms) and ciliate prey (oligotrichs) as a function of prey concentration could be described by a Holling type III functional response. with close to zero ingestion rates at concentrations below 5 mu g Cl-1. In general, ingestion of ciliates was higher than ingestion of algae, and maximum feeding rates by adult males reached were half the feeding rates of adult females at prey concentrations exceeding 50 mu g Cl-1. When diatoms and ciliates were offered together C. hamatus (both sexes) fed exclusively on ciliates as long as they contributed with more than 5% to the mixture. This indicates the capability of active prey selection and switching between suspension feeding and ambush predation. Therefore, the feeding behaviour of adult C hamaths can be characterised as omnivorous with a preference for larger motile prey. This implies a trophic level above two, if there is a sufficient abundance of protozoan food available. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Linking foraging strategies of marine calanoid copepods to patterns of nitrogen stable isotope signatures in a mesocosm study

The foraging modes of calanoid copepods differ in that stationary suspension-feeding is more easily detected by prey with strong escape responses (ciliates) than is ‘cruising’ or ‘ambushing’ feeding. Thus, the ability of a copepod to include heterotrophic prey in its diet may be associated with its foraging mode and, further, with its nitrogen stable isotope signature (δ15N). This is because a more carnivorous diet may be expected to result in a higher δ15N. We tested this hypothesis in a mesocosm study using a density gradient (0 to 80 ind. l-1) of calanoid copepods. We expected copepod δ15N to generally increase with decreasing copepod density because of increased food availability, and predicted stronger increases for cruising than for stationary suspension-feeding species. As an assemblage, copepods had a pronounced impact on the food web: diatoms and ciliates decreased, whereas nanoflagellates increased with increasing copepod density. As expected, Centropages hamatus, a cruising species, showed the strongest isotopic increase and also highest population growth at low copepod density, suggesting that it was the most efficient species in capturing ciliates. Temora longicornis, a stationary suspension-feeder, showed a uniform isotopic increase in all mesocosms, which we believe resulted from nutritional stress arising from poor feeding on both ciliates (too fast for ingestion by T. longicornis) and nanoflagellates (too small). However, Pseudocalanus elongatus, a species equally categorised as a stationary suspension-feeder, showed increases in its δ15N similar to those for C. hamatus. While this may indicate potential switching in its foraging mode, alternative explanations cannot be ruled out, partly because qualitative and quantitative aspects of trophic enrichment in our experiment could not be clearly separated. This study shows that consumer δ15N are difficult to interpret, even if potential food sources and aspects of the species’ biology are known, and thus emphasises the necessity for further laboratory studies to help better interpret zooplankton δ15N in the field

A comparison of phytoplankton and ciliate feeding by marine calanoid copepods

The feeding behaviour of the marine calanoid copepods Calanus finmarchicus and Centropages hamatus was studied in several laboratory experiments, and the trophic position of C. finmarchicus in the Trondheim Fjord in 2004 was determined through stable isotope analyses

Trophic position of Calanus finmarchicus (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the Trondheim Fjord

The trophic position of Calanus finmarchicus in the Trondheim Fjord in 2004 was determined through stable isotope analyses. Wild specimens were sampled monthly in the fjord and δ13C and δ15N signatures of the developmental stages from CIII to adults were measured. There were statistically significant differences in the δ13C and δ15N signatures of three identified groups: overwintered parental generation, developing new generation and new generation preparing for overwintering. C. finmarchicus individuals raised in a laboratory on a pure algal diet (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Isochrysis galbana) provided stable isotope signatures for purely herbivorous copepods. With these signatures as comparison, the trophic position of C. finmarchicus in the Trondheim Fjord in 2004 was determined as trophic level 2.4, thus indicating omnivory under natural conditions. Additionally, our data suggest that seasonal differences in the δ13C signatures of C. finmarchicus are due to the varying lipid content of the different developmental stages