Variations in the quantity and composition of seston from an estuary in southern Chile on different temporal scales

Estuaries are characterised by highly variable environmental conditions largely driven by tidal and atmospheric forces. This study investigates variation in the physical environment and the composition of the seston on various temporal scales in the Quempillén estuary, southern Chile. The water column was sampled throughout the tidal cycle at various times of the year. Total particulate matter, particulate inorganic matter, particulate organic matter, particle numbers, total particle volume, proximate biochemical composition and energy content of the seston, chlorophyll a and chloropigments were routinely measured. In each of the months in which sampling took place, two or three tidal cycles were examined. The information not only helps to explain the dynamics of the estuary, but is essential for an understanding of the physiology and ecology of the suspension-feeders which exploit the seston as a food source, the most dominant being the gastropod Crepipatella dilatata. Temperature and salinity were generally highest during summer, but seston quality, defined by energy content and biochemical composition (lipid, protein and carbohydrate) was higher at the end of winter and during spring. Chlorophyll a values were greatest in late spring (November). Many of the variables studied changed frequently according to the phase of the tidal cycle, and in several cases significant differences were observed among tidal cycles from the same month of the same year. In general the variables measured did not exhibit consistent patterns linked to the tidal cycle, possibly because any such patterns were masked by atmospheric conditions (wind and rain) that dominate the region and greatly influence the estuary. The quantity and quality of the seston available to suspension-feeders is largely determined by these atmospheric forces, which cause an influx of terrigenous material from adjacent areas and also resuspend bottom sediment. These effects are magnified by the shallowness of the estuary (<2 m depth). The food supply for C. dilatata and other suspension-feeders therefore varies on temporal scales varying from hourly (tidal cycle) to daily/weekly (atmospheric forces) to monthly (seasonal influences), but inhibition of feeding by low salinity sometimes limits the ability of C. dilatata to exploit fully the available organic matter.     

Intra-plant differences in seaweed nutritional quality and chemical defenses: Importance for the feeding behavior of the intertidal amphipod Orchestoidea tuberculata

As a result of their morphological complexity, large macroalgae show intra-thallus variations in their nutritional composition and secondary metabolite content, which influences the trophic ecology of herbivorous invertebrates, and ultimately their fitness. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the variability in nutritional quality (protein content, carbohydrates, lipids, and total organic matter), secondary metabolites (phlorotannins), and structure (shape and toughness) between blades and stipes of the macroalgae Durvillaea Antarctica. Specifically, we looked at their effect on feeding preference, rate of consumption, absorption efficiency, and growth rate of the amphipod Orchestoidea tuberculata, one of the most abundant organisms on Chilean sandy beaches. Proteins, carbohydrates, total organic matter and phlorotannin contents were significantly higher in blades than in stipes. Preference experiments revealed that the amphipods preferred blades when fresh pieces of blades and stipes were offered at the same time. Similar results were found when artificial food (in which structures of both parts of the alga were standardized) was offered, suggesting that shape and toughness of the two different parts of the alga did not influence preference patterns of O. tuberculata. Absorption efficiency of O. tuberculata was higher on blades compared to stipes. When the amphipods were kept with each of the algal parts separately (i.e. no choice), they consumed a significantly higher amount of stipe, which suggests that O. tuberculata used food quantity to compensate for the lower nutritional quality of stipes. The higher nutritional values of blades compared to stipes appears to explain observed preference patterns by O. tuberculata. Phlorotannin content did not appear to inhibit blade consumption, suggesting that the nutritional quality of the food could be more important than chemical defense in determining food choice in O. tuberculata. Growth did not differ between the amphipods maintained with either blades or stipes (i.e. no choice), which is consistent with the hypothesis of compensatory feeding. To conclude, O. tuberculata can actively select specific parts of an alga and this selection appears to be based on nutritional quality. The capacity for using different feeding strategies allow O. tuberculata, in some cases, to successfully exploit food types with different nutritional qualities.     

食物资源不足条件下螯足数量对三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)摄食行为和种内竞食能力的影响

鉴于池塘养殖条件下三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)种内相残现象严重,螯足缺失率较高之实际。本研究对三疣梭子蟹的螯足进行了缺失处理,设置了无螯组(C0)、1螯足组(C1)和2螯足组(C2),在实验室内食物资源不足条件下,探讨了螯足数量(螯足缺失)对三疣梭子蟹摄食行为和竞食能力的影响。结果表明:(1)螯足数量对三疣梭子蟹的索食时间无显著影响(P0.05);(2)缺失螯足(C1,C2组)的三疣梭子蟹均可正常摄食,其中C0组蟹可用第一步足代替螯足抱持食物,将食物送入口中,表现出明显的行为补偿策略,但其啃食速度较慢,啃食耗时是C2组蟹的2倍;(3)C0、C1、C2组三疣梭子蟹均有部分个体同时抢占2份食物,其比率与个体具有的螯足数量有关,螯足越多,同时抢占2份食物的比率越高,其中C2组中有20%个体同时抢占了2份食物,而C0组仅有3%个体同时抢占了2份食物;(4)从螯足数量不同的三疣梭子蟹遭同类抢食的次数、比率来看,螯足数量越多的三疣梭子蟹,抢食欲望、抢食能力越强,而且更趋向向双螯均缺失个体发起抢夺性攻击,表现出明显的"强欺弱"现象;(5)螯足缺失直接影响了三疣梭子蟹对食物的保护,其中C0组中50%个体持有的食物可被同类抢走。整体上,缺失单个螯足对三疣梭子蟹摄食和竞食行为的影响不大,而缺失双螯将严重影响了三疣梭子蟹的摄食和竞食能力。     

Diet of Littoraria scabra, while vertically migrating on mangrove trees: Gut content, fatty acid, and stable isotope analyses

The snail, Littoraria scabra, is a dominant grazer on tropical mangrove trees, and may play an important role in the food web dynamics of these ecosystems. Its daily vertical migration to avoid tidal submersion results in exposure to varying food types and abundances. A comprehensive diet analysis – gut contents, fatty acid profiles, and stable isotopes (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) – was conducted on snails migrating along mangrove trees and snails maintained in non-tidal mesocosms at Nananu-i-ra, Fiji Islands. In addition, fatty acid profiles and stable isotope signatures were obtained from surface scrapings of mangrove roots, trunks, branches, and leaves. Results from this multi-technique study indicate that L. scabra is mainly a generalist herbivore, which easily shifts diets depending on food availability, and which also has the ability to ingest and assimilate zooplankton. Ingestion of greater quantities of diverse foods (i.e., microalgae, foliose/corticated macrophytes, filamentous algae, mangrove tissues, zooplankton) takes place in the bottom areas of mangrove trees (roots and trunks) during low tides, while top areas (branches and leaves) provide limited food resources for snails feeding during high tides. However, snails preferentially assimilate microalgae and bacteria, regardless of their feeding habitat (different areas within mangrove trees and non-tidal mesocosms). The daily vertical movements of this snail result in variable feeding times, ingestion of different food types and amounts, and different assimilations. These findings also suggest that organic matter derived from mangrove tissues may not be readily transferred to higher trophic levels through this grazing pathway.     

Changes in structural and functional diversity of nematode communities during a spring phytoplankton bloom in the southern North Sea

The response of nematode communities to the sedimentation of a spring phytoplankton bloom in a sandy, well-oxygenated sediment at a single station (station 330) in the Southern North Sea was investigated monthly from early March to July 1999. Both structural (nematode density, diversity, vertical distribution and community composition) and functional (feeding type distributions, number of species within feeding groups) characteristics showed considerable changes shortly after the arrival of fresh organic material at the sediment surface. The general increase in numerical densities and diversity was related to changes within the groups of selective deposit-feeding and epistrate-feeding nematodes. It is hypothesised that sedimentation and subsequent remineralisation of fresh organic matter during the spring phytoplankton bloom result in an increase of suitable food items (both living and dead). This, combined with the availability of oxygen, creates conditions in which many nematode species can co-exist.     

Modelling growth and reproduction of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas: Advances in the oyster-DEB model through application to a coastal pond

A bio-energetic model, based on the DEB theory exists for the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Pouvreau et al. [Pouvreau, S., Bourles, Y., Lefebvre, S., Gangnery, A., Alunno-Bruscia, M., 2006. Application of a dynamic energy budget model to the Pacific oyster, C. gigas, reared under various environmental conditions. J. Sea Res. 56, 156–167.] successfully applied this model to oysters reared in three environments with no tide and low turbidity, using chlorophyll a concentration as food quantifier. However, the robustness of the oyster-DEB model needs to be validated in varying environments where different food quantifiers reflect the food available for oysters, as is the case in estuaries and most coastal ecosystems. We therefore tested the oyster-DEB model on C. gigas reared in an Atlantic coastal pond from January 2006 to January 2007. The model relies on two forcing variables: seawater temperature and food density monitored through various food quantifiers. Based on the high temperature range measured in this oyster pond (3–30 °C), new boundary values of the temperature tolerance range were estimated both for ingestion and respiration rates. Several food quantifiers were then tested to select the most suitable for explaining the observed growth and reproduction of C. gigas reared in an oyster pond. These were: particulate organic matter and carbon, chlorophyll a concentration and phytoplankton enumeration (expressed in cell number per litre or in cumulative cell biovolume). We conclude that when phytoplankton enumeration was used as food quantifier, the new version of oyster-DEB model presented here reproduced the growth and reproduction of C. gigas very accurately. The next step will be to validate the model under contrasting coastal environmental conditions so as to confirm the accuracy of phytoplankton enumeration as a way of representing the available food that sustains oyster growth.     

异养营养对丛生盔形珊瑚代谢及共生藻光合生理的影响

本文以三亚鹿回头近岸海域内的优势种造礁石珊瑚——丛生盔形珊瑚(Galaxea fascicularis)为研究对象,以丰年虾(Artemia salina)无节幼体为饵料,研究了异养营养对丛生盔形珊瑚光合作用与呼吸代谢的影响。结果表明:异养营养的输入能够增加丛生盔形珊瑚的共生虫黄藻密度以及色素含量,并能够显著提升其光合作用与呼吸速率,然而单个虫黄藻的光合速率降低,这与虫黄藻密度增加引起的遮蔽效应有关。从营养角度来看,异养营养的输入能够使丛生盔形珊瑚有机碳的净积累速率提升约44.5%。本研究结果显示异养营养的输入能够促进丛生盔形珊瑚的光合与呼吸代谢,且这种情况下丛生盔形珊瑚的营养模式更为健康。     

化学诱变剂在实验海洋食物链中的流动以及遗传毒性的检测

于１９８９年３月－１９８９年９月，利用极谱测定法研究了无机诱变剂Ｃｄ在３级实验食物（链从褐指藻经中国对虾至欧氏六线鱼）中的传递，并对积累Ｃｄ的中国对虾和欧氏六线鱼肌肉和内脏灰样进行了紫露草微核测定。结果表明，Ｃｄ浓度在传递中依次减少；经过６ｄ喂食，Ｃｄ从褐指藻到中国对虾的传递比例为６６．６％；经过７ｄ喂食，Ｃｄ从中国对虾到欧氏六线鱼的传递比例为２９．９％。ｔ测验发现，处理组对虾内脏灰样与肌肉灰样之     

Population structure, density and food sources of Terebralia palustris (Potamididae: Gastropoda) in a low intertidal Avicennia marina mangrove stand (Inhaca Island, Mozambique)

Population structure and distribution of Terebralia palustris were compared with the environmental parameters within microhabitats in a monospecific stand of Avicennia marina in southern Mozambique. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of T. palustris and potential food sources (leaves, pneumatophore epiphytes, and surface sediments) were examined to establish the feeding preferences of T. palustris. Stable isotope signatures of individuals of different size classes and from different microhabitats were compared with local food sources. Samples of surface sediments 2.5–10 m apart showed some variation (−21.2‰ to −23.0‰) in δ¹³C, probably due to different contributions from seagrasses, microalgae and mangrove leaves, while δ¹⁵N values varied between 8.7‰ and 15.8‰, indicating that there is a very high variability within a small-scale microcosm. Stable isotope signatures differed significantly between the T. palustris size classes and between individuals of the same size class, collected in different microhabitats. Results also suggested that smaller individuals feed on sediment, selecting mainly benthic microalgae, while larger individuals feed on sediment, epiphytes and mangrove leaves. Correlations were found between environmental parameters and gastropod population structure and distribution vs. the feeding preferences of individuals of different size classes and in different microhabitats. While organic content and the abundance of leaves were parameters that correlated best with the total density of gastropods (>85%), the abundance of pneumatophores and leaves, as well as grain size, correlated better with the gastropod size distribution (>65%). Young individuals (height < 3 cm) occur predominantly in microhabitats characterized by a low density of leaf litter and pneumatophores, reduced organic matter and larger grain size, these being characteristic of lower intertidal open areas that favour benthic microalgal growth. With increasing shell height, T. palustris individuals start occupying microhabitats nearer the mangrove trees characterized by large densities of pneumatophores and litter, as well as sediments of smaller grain size, leading to higher organic matter availability in the sediment.     

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 µg C l^− 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 µg C l^− 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. hamatus 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.     

厦门近岸海域大型底栖动物摄食功能群及其与环境因子的关系

根据2013年5月和11月在厦门周边海域60个取样站获得的大型底栖动物数据,运用功能群方法分析该海域大型底栖动物功能群的时空格局及其与环境因子的关系。共鉴定大型底栖动物9门160科411种,其中肉食者152种,浮游生物食者102种,碎屑食者103种,杂食者48种和植食者6种,菲律宾蛤仔（Ruditapes philippinarum）和丝鳃稚齿虫（Prionospio malmgreni）分别是该海域春、秋季的主要优势种。总体而言,浮游生物食者和肉食者为该海域的主要优势功能群,但各区域的优势功能群存在一定差异,围头湾的主导功能群为肉食者和碎屑食者,大嶝海域以肉食者和浮游生物食者为主,而九龙江口和同安湾则以碎屑食者和浮游生物食者占优势。典范对应分析结果表明,水深和底温是影响该海域大型底栖动物功能群时空格局的主要因素,活性磷酸盐、底盐、有机质和叶绿素a等对其分布也有一定的影响。     

Influence of tidal regime,diurnal phase,habitat and season on feeding of an intertidal crab

The relationship between diet and feeding activity of intertidal crabs, and environmental cycles (tidal, daily and seasonal), habitat and level of the intertidal zone (high/low) was studied using Neohelice granulata (Brachyura, Varunidae) as a model. This is a semi‐terrestrial burrowing crab occupying different habitats in the Southwestern Atlantic coasts and estuaries from bare low intertidal mudflats to high intertidal salt marshes, and from fine, organic matter rich sediment to very coarse sediment with low content of organic matter. The study was carried out in two contrasting habitats of three sites with diverse sets of physical and biological conditions. Diet and feeding of adult N. granulata were indirectly studied through the proportion of food items and the presence/absence of food in crab stomachs, respectively. This species has a dual mode of feeding: predominantly herbivorous (live plants or plant litter in salt marshes) or deposit feeder (superficial sediment and detritus in mudflats), but the quantity and quality of ingested food varies among habitats and sites. A trend to omnivory (including algae and conspecifics) was detected in relation to low quality of resources. Feeding activity modulated by a complex interaction of factors varied according to spatial and/or temporal changes in some natural cycles. Males and non‐ovigerous females fed preferably after dark and during submersion periods, but also after emersion periods if mudflat sediment remained wet; salt marsh crab feeding is somewhat independent of light and tidal cycles. Ovigerous females almost never fed. Both diet and feeding activity of this crab seem to be flexible traits adapted to different combinations of physical and biological factors.     

Factors influencing biodeposit production by the New Zealand freshwater mussel Echyridella menziesii

Laboratory experiments on the New Zealand freshwater mussel Echyridella menziesii were used to investigate the short-term effects (7–8 days) of food type on rates of biodeposition and benthic substrate respiration. Post-feeding biodeposition rates ranged from 0.34 to 1.52?mg?g^?1?h^?1 (mean?=?0.50?mg g^?1?h^?1) and were unaffected by the addition of toxin-producing Microcystis. Addition of suspended sediment (30?mg?L^?1) visibly altered substrate composition, and increased total and inorganic biodeposit production rates by 24–33% compared to mussels fed commercial phytoplankton stock. Biodeposition rates of mussels in lake bed substrates were 38% higher than those in silica sand for identical feeding regimes, suggesting that a significant proportion of material produced in this experiment could have been derived from feeding on organic matter in the lake bed sediments. Respiration rates were higher in treatments with Microcystis but were unaffected by the presence of mussels. This laboratory study suggests that biodeposition by E. menziesii is resilient to short-term exposure to Microcystis, and highlights the ability of mussels to alter benthic substrate composition by incorporating suspended sediment into substrates.     

Inter‐population differences in feeding ecology under nitrogen‐limited diets: Field growth and the role of cannibalism in limiting/improving reserve accumulation

Growth is determined by an organism's physiology, physical environment, and biological conditions, including food availability and any intra‐ and inter‐specific interactions that can affect feeding activity. To analyse how all these factors interact to produce final growth in the herbivorous/detritivorous crab Neohelice granulata, we performed field and laboratory experiments with juveniles and adults from three populations which differed genetically as well as in their physical environment and the organic matter (OM) content in the soil that serves as food. We evaluated (a) growth in the field: Juveniles of the three populations were cross‐transplanted in exclusion cages; (b) effect of the presence of adults on juvenile feeding: We measured the feeding activity of small juveniles in presence/absence of an adult male as potential predator in the field; and (c) effect of diet on cannibalism: We analysed the cannibalistic behavior of adult males from two of the populations in the laboratory after they had received protein‐rich (24%) and protein‐poor (3%) diets. In experiment (a), final size was similar for the crabs from all three origins but growth differed between sites. Experiment (b) showed that the presence of adults interfered with feeding activity at the two sites with lower weight indicators. In experiment (c), we observed that low protein diet increased the cannibalistic behavior of adult males, and this effect was more intense in crabs from the poorest food site. Our results contribute to understanding the set of factors and interactions involved in the response of individuals to the prevailing conditions in natural environments in order to maintain a growth rate, perhaps at the expense of different reserve accumulation. They also enable discussion of the limitations of approaches used in laboratory experiments.     

十溴联苯醚(BDE-209)胁迫对褶皱臂尾轮虫(Brachionus plicatilis)摄食与选食的影响

实验生态条件下研究十溴联苯醚(BDE-209)的急性毒性胁迫对褶皱臂尾轮虫(Branchionus plicatilis)运动行为与摄食行为的影响,探讨可用以表征胁迫-响应的生物标志物。结果表明:(1)BDE-209胁迫24h显著性增加了褶皱臂尾轮虫的运动抑制率,由此得到24h半数有效抑制浓度(24h-EC_(50))为9.084mg/L,但未达到半数致死作用;(2)当分别以四种海洋微藻:小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris)、青岛大扁藻(Platymonas helgolandica)、等鞭金藻8701(Isochrysis galbana)和小新月菱形藻(Cylindrotheca closterium)为单一饵料来源时,褶皱臂尾轮虫对四种饵料单胞藻的滤水率(F)和摄食率(G)均随着胁迫时间和胁迫浓度的增加而不断下降,呈现出明显的浓度依赖性,说明BDE-209胁迫能显著抑制褶皱臂尾轮虫的摄食作用。(3)将其中三种微藻等生物量混合投喂时,褶皱臂尾轮虫对三种微藻的滤水率和摄食率与单一饵料投喂条件相比均发生变化,且对各种微藻的选食率(Sr)和摄食总生物量均随着胁迫时间和浓度的增加呈下降趋势,选择性指数(Si)发生变化,对小球藻的摄食选择性最高。滤水率的变化较其它指标更敏感,可用以指示浮游动物在个体水平上响应外源环境变化的标志物。结果表明,BDE-209胁迫能有效改变褶皱臂尾轮虫的摄食与选食行为,且其最适宜的饵料是小球藻。     

Burial fluxes and source apportionment of carbon in culture areas of Sanggou Bay over the past 200 years

In this study,we assessed the burial fluxes and source appointment of different forms of carbon in core sediments collected from culture areas in the Sanggou Bay,and preliminarily analyzed the reasons for the greater proportion of inorganic carbon burial fluxes(BFTIC).The average content of total carbon(TC) in the Sanggou Bay was 2.14%.Total organic carbon(TOC) accounted for a small proportion in TC,more than 65% of which derived from terrigenous organic carbon(Ct),and while the proportion of marine-derived organic carbon(Ca) increased significantly since the beginning of large-scale aquaculture.Total inorganic carbon(TIC) accounted for 60%–75%of TC,an average of which was 60%,with a maximum up to 90% during flourishing periods(1880–1948) of small natural shellfish derived from seashells inorganic carbon(Shell-IC).The TC burial fluxes ranged from 31 g/(m2·a)to 895 g/(m2·a) with an average of 227 g/(m2·a),which was dominated by TIC(about 70%).Shell-IC was the main source of TIC and even TC.As the main food of natural shellfish,biogenic silica(BSi) negatively correlated with BFTIC through affecting shellfish breeding.BFTIC of Sta.S1,influenced greatly by the Yellow Sea Coastal Current,had a certain response to Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO) in some specific periods.     

Rapid digestion and assimilation of bait by the deep-sea amphipod Eurythenes gryllus

Scavenging lysianassoid amphipods (Eurythenes gryllus) were collected with a newly designed trap to measure digestion rates with timed exposure to bait in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean (2075 m) and in the Nares (3521 m) and Sohm Abyssal (4978 m) Plains, northeast Atlantic Ocean. In feeding experiments up to 157 h long, water and organic matter content were not significantly different in anterior, central and hind gut regions of individual amphipods, showing that digestion in E. gryllus conforms to the batch reactor feeding model. Ingested bait was rapidly solubilized and water content increased from < 70% to > 90% within 69 h. Digestion rates, calculated from exponential curves fitted to decreases in gut contents for dry matter and various organic components, were very high (2.1–6.5% loss h⁻¹) for sardines ingested during short (6–11 h) incubation periods in the Canada Basin. Mackerel ingested by amphipods trapped in the Nares and Sohm Abyssal Plains were digested at lower rates (0.4-1.0% loss h⁻¹) in in situ experiments up to 123 h. Allometric regressions described relationships between body length and calories potentially available for assimilation from one meal by male and female instars. Rapid digestion in opportunistic scavengers like E. gryllus makes gut capacity available for additional feeding when food supply is unpredictable.     

Food web structure within kelp holdfasts (Laminaria): a stable isotope study

Kelp holdfasts are highly reticulated structures which host a large diversity of small fauna. These microhabitats have been reported to play a crucial role in the biodiversity associated to kelp forest ecosystems. This study aimed at identifying trophic links and the main food sources sustaining food webs within communities associated with kelp holdfasts, through a stable isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) approach. Sampling of the main invertebrates inhabiting Laminaria digitata holdfasts, and of their potential food sources, took place in February and May 2007. Stable isotope results reveal that most of the primary consumers, including filter-feeders and deposit-feeders, rely on the particulate organic matter sedimented within kelp holdfasts. Only three grazers departed from this general pattern. The correspondence between the stable isotope ratios of predators and sediment consumers indicated that this source is at the base of the main pathway through which energy and matter transit in the food web. δ¹⁵N ranges found for consumers revealed that the food web associated with kelp holdfasts is composed of 3.5 levels. In spite of the low diversity of food sources at the base of the food web, these microhabitats can therefore be considered micro-scale ecosystems, from a functional perspective.     

中华原钩虾(Eogammarus possjeticus)对浒苔(Ulva prolifera)及其他类型饵料的摄食研究

采用生理生态学方法,研究了中华原钩虾(Eogammaruspossjeticus)对黄海绿潮原因种浒苔(Ulva prolifera)及海水池塘4种优势大型海藻,即肠浒苔(Ulva intestinalis)、扁浒苔(Ulva compressa)、线形硬毛藻(Chaetomorphalinum)和丝毛藻(Cloniophorasp.)的摄食率,比较了对浒苔与其他不同类型饵料(包括人工饵料)的摄食,开展了不同密度的中华原钩虾对浒苔的现场摄食研究。结果显示,中华原钩虾的摄食率、饵料吸收率与海藻的含水量成呈正相关,表明该端足类存在明显的补偿性摄食行为。对不同类型饵料的摄食结果显示,中华原钩虾除了摄食海藻,对豆粕、虾饲料等人工饵料也具有较高的饵料吸收率,表明其可人工投喂培育。中华原钩虾具有一定摄食节律,夜晚摄食量高于白昼,表明夜晚投喂有利于中华原钩虾摄食,可减少饵料污染,有利于清洁生产。现场摄食实验结果显示,中华原钩虾摄食量随养殖密度的增加而增加,但其摄食率和存活率与养殖密度呈负相关,表明高密度时中华原钩虾竞争摄食增加了饵料消耗,同时中华原钩虾为抵抗养殖密度过高造成的竞争而增加能量等消耗。     

Trophic efficiency of the planktonic food web in a coastal ecosystem dominated by Phaeocystis colonies

The trophic efficiency of the planktonic food web in the Phaeocystis-dominated ecosystem of the Belgian coastal waters was inferred from the analysis of the carbon flow network of the planktonic system subdivided into its different trophodynamic groups. A carbon budget was constructed on the basis of process-level field experiments conducted during the spring bloom period of 1998. Biomass and major metabolic activities of auto- and heterotrophic planktonic communities (primary production, bacterial production, nanoproto-, micro- and mesozooplankton feeding activities) were determined in nine field assemblages collected during spring at reference station 330. In 1998, the phytoplankton spring flowering was characterised by a moderate diatom bloom followed by a massive Phaeocystis colony bloom. Phaeocystis colonies, contributing 70% to the net primary production, escaped the linear food chain while the early spring diatom production supplied 74% of the mesozooplankton carbon uptake. The rest of mesozooplankton food requirement was, at the time of the Phaeocystis colony bloom, partially fulfilled by microzooplankton. Only one-third of the microzooplankton production, however, was controlled by mesozooplankton grazing pressure. Ungrazed Phaeocystis colonies were stimulating the establishment of a very active microbial network. On the one hand, the release of free-living cells from ungrazed colonies has been shown to stimulate the growth of microzooplankton, which was controlling 97% of the nanophytoplankton production. On the other hand, the disruption of ungrazed Phaeocystis colonies supplied the water column with large amounts of dissolved organic matter available for planktonic bacteria. The budget calculation suggests that ungrazed colonies contributed up to 60% to the bacterial carbon demand, while alternative sources (exudation, zooplankton egestion and lysis of other organisms) provided some 30% of bacterial carbon requirements. This suggests that the spring carbon demand of planktonic bacteria was satisfied largely by autogenic production. The trophic efficiency was defined as the ratio between mesozooplankton grazing on a given source and food production. In spite of its major contribution to mesozooplankton feeding, the trophic efficiency of the linear food chain, restricted to the grazing on diatoms, represented only 5.6% of the available net primary production. The trophic efficiency of the microbial food chain, the ratio between mesozooplankton grazing on microzooplankton and the resource inflow (the bacterial carbon demand plus the nanophytoplankton production) amounted to only 1.6%. These low trophic efficiencies together with the potential contribution of ungrazed Phaeocystis-derived production to the bacterial carbon demand suggest that during spring 1998 most of the Phaeocystis-derived production in the Belgian coastal area was remineralised in the water column.