Marine Biology

, Volume 121, Issue 1, pp 89–95 | Cite as

Evaluation of the copepod Tigriopus californicus as a bioassay organism for the detection of chemical feeding deterrents produced by marine phytoplankton

  • B. A. Shaw
  • P. J. Harrison
  • R. J. Andersen
Article
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Accepted:

Abstract

Marine phytoplankton have been shown to use chemical feeding deterrents to reduce or inhibit zooplankton grazing. In order to screen phytoplankton species for feeding deterrent production and to isolate and identify feeding deterrent compounds, a new, rapid, and reliable laboratory bioassay was developed. This bioassay used the laboratory-reared harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus californicus and measured inhibition of feeding by measuring the fecal pellet production rate. The bioassay was capable of detecting deterrent compounds: (1) adsorbed onto ground fish food (a normally palatable food); (2) dissolved in a mixture of seawater and live Thalassiosira pseudonana cells (a species of diatom which had no feeding deterrent activity); and (3) present in live cell cultures. Method (2) was recommended for use in bioassay-guided fractionation (isolation of chemical compounds), as it was reliable, rapid, accurate, and easy to perform with large numbers of samples. The total bioassay time was < 48 h, and data collection required only a microscope. Methanolic cell extracts of several phytoplankton species were screened for feeding deterrent activity. Extracts from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax grindleyi gave feeding deterrent responses, while extracts from the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana gave no feeding deterrent responses. Live P. tricornutum cells deterred feeding at densities of 6x105 cells ml-1. This bioassay should provide a valuable tool in screening phytoplankton for feeding deterrent compounds and determining the chemical nature of these compounds.

Keywords

Phytoplankton Marine Phytoplankton Phaeodactylum Tricornutum Harpacticoid Copepod Thalassiosira Pseudonana 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 1994

Authors and Affiliations

  • B. A. Shaw
    • 1
  • P. J. Harrison
    • 1
  • R. J. Andersen
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of OcenaographyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverCanada

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