Sodium alginate microcapsules have low permeability, high digestibility, and are specifically suited as artificial food particles for zooplankton. The microcapsules may be used to introduce pure compounds into zooplankton diets and to study the biochemical fate of those compounds. We encapsulated a highly labile molecule, Chl a, and traced it and its principal degradation products in zooplankton grazing experiments. Chlorophyll was not degraded or lost during the encapsulation procedure and remained stable for at least 6 d at 4°C in the dark. The microcapsules were ingestible and digestible by female Calanus pacificus, and fecal pellets were formed at normal rates, 40–60 min after ingestion. Two quantitative feeding experiments were conducted with pure chlorophyll. The mean loss of ingested pigment was 85.9% (±7.2%) and 76.1% (±6.1%). In the second experiment, we analyzed the medium to determine if any chlorophyll may have gone into solution; <2% of the total “lost” chlorophyll went into solution. We conclude that a significant amount of ingested Chl a is degraded into non‐fluorescent compounds during passage through copepod guts.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.