Selective feeding of littoral harpacticoids on diatom algae: hungry gourmands?

Azovsky, Andrey I.; Saburova, Maria; Chertoprood, E. S.; Polikarpov, Igor

doi:10.1007/s00227-005-0086-2

Cited by 39 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Given those differences, it is likely that feeding habits, and therefore the role of these copepods in EMAs' food web functioning differs. In other environments, trophic niches of copepod species belonging to the same eco-morphotype can be different (Arroyo et al, 2006;Azovsky et al, 2005;Carman and Fry, 2002;Carman and Thistle, 1985;De Troch et al, 2006b;Pace and Carman, 1996;Steinarsdóttir et al, 2010). How resource partitioning determines co-existence of dominant eco-morphotypes in EMAs remains unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal dependence on seagrass detritus and trophic niche partitioning in four copepod eco-morphotypes

et al. 2018

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Benthic copepods dominate meiofaunal communities from marine phytodetritus, both in terms of numerical abundance and species diversity. Nevertheless, ecological factors driving copepod co-existence and population dynamics are still largely unknown. Here, we aimed to explore feeding habits of four copepod species commonly found in Mediterranean seagrass detritus accumulations, representing distinct eco-morphotypes (planktonic, phytal, epibenthic and mesopsammic). Joint use of fatty acid and stable isotope trophic markers showed that co-occurring harpacticoid copepods have diversified diets. Contrary to what was expected, microphytobenthos does not serve as their main food source. Instead, we found evidence from both techniques that major food items include heterotrophic biomass, macro-epiphytes and, depending on eco-morphology and season, of seagrass detritus-derived organic matter. Isotopic niches suggested that eco-morphotypes showed resource segregation. This segregation varies temporally, and partial overlap occurs between niches of phytal and epibenthic eco-morphotypes in some seasons. Our results highlight that, contrary to what is often assumed for meiofaunal consumers, considerable trophic diversity exists among copepod assemblages. They also indicate that, through multiple non-exclusive possible mechanisms, copepods could constitute a major link between seagrass detritus and associated biomass and higher trophic levels (namely macroinvertebrates and juvenile fish).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal dependence on seagrass detritus and trophic niche partitioning in four copepod eco-morphotypes

et al. 2018

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“…Azovsky et al 2005, De Troch et al 2006a, the present study is the first to show that they feed differently on diatom cells in different growth phases. Especially for benthic animals like harpacticoid copepods that search for their food in or on the sediment, this is a remarkable finding as a variety of potential food sources are available in natural conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

The taste of diatoms: the role of diatom growth phase characteristics and associated bacteria for benthic copepod grazing

Troch

Vergaerde²,

Cnudde³

et al. 2012

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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“…Wiackowski et al (1994) also observed that larger ciliates were more often attacked than the smaller ones by adult planktonic copepods. Similarly, Azovsky et al (2005) reported that an adult harpacticoid selected larger diatoms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

Wiackowski

Kocerba‐Soroka

2016

Hydrobiologia

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Copepods are the most numerous metazoans in water-filled phytotelmata formed by Heliconia and Calathea floral bracts in cloud forests of Cordillera de la Costa, Northern Venezuela. We estimated the potential effect of copepods on ciliate community structure in this habitat with a laboratory experiment. Predation effects of five life stages of a harpacticoid copepod on a mixed culture of five bacterivorous ciliate species were measured during a 48-hour incubation. The predation effect depended on copepod life stage and on ciliate prey species. The abundances of Colpoda inflata, Tetrahymena pyriformis, and Colpidium kleini were significantly reduced, the actual effect strongly depending on copepod developmental stage. No detectable predation was observed on Paramecium aurelia or Tachysoma pellionellum. The results suggest that predation by harpacticoid copepods is an important factor influencing ciliate community structure in phytotelmata.

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Selective feeding of littoral harpacticoids on diatom algae: hungry gourmands?

Cited by 39 publications

References 38 publications

Seasonal dependence on seagrass detritus and trophic niche partitioning in four copepod eco-morphotypes

Seasonal dependence on seagrass detritus and trophic niche partitioning in four copepod eco-morphotypes

The taste of diatoms: the role of diatom growth phase characteristics and associated bacteria for benthic copepod grazing

Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

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