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Evidence for ontogenetic feeding strategies in four calanoid copepods in the East Sea (Japan Sea) in summer, revealed by stable isotope analysis

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Abstract

Deciphering the ontogenetic feeding ecology of copepods is essential to understanding their role in the energy transfer of marine ecosystems. We used stable isotope analysis to examine the ontogenetic feeding strategies of the four coexisting calanoid copepods, Mesocalanus tenuicornis, Metridia pacifica, Calanus sinicus, and Neocalanus plumchrus, in the East Sea (Japan Sea) in summer. Moreover, we used the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of small-sized plankton in three cell size fractions, pico- (< 2 μm), nano- (2–20 μm) and microplankton (20–200 μm), to identify the dietary preference at each developmental stage. The relative carbon masses of pico-, nano- and microplankton were 18, 38, and 44%, respectively, and their δ13C and δ15N values gradually increased with increasing size classes. The ontogenetic trophic position of four copepods were relatively low and ranged from 2.1 to 2.6, indicating that herbivores feed on small-sized phytoplankton, pico- and nanoplankton. Among copepodid stages, the δ13C and δ15N values of M. tenuicornis and C. sinicus differed significantly, while those of M. pacifica and N. plumchrus were not significantly different. In M. tenuicornis, the smallest species among the four copepods examined, the diet preference of CIV for picoplankton changed to nanoplankton in the adult stage. When M. pacifica developed from CIV to adult, the diet preference changed from pico- to microplankton. The proportion of microplankton in the diet of C. sinicus and N. plumchrus increased from CIV to female adult and from CIII to CV, respectively. During the developmental progress in copepodid stages, the smaller copepods significantly changed their dietary preference from pico- to microplankton, while the larger copepods consistently fed on microplankton. We suggest that smaller copepods have an advantage in survival at early copepodid stages compared with larger copepods in summer when microplankton biomass is relatively low.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography, College of Natural Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Dong-Hoon Im & Hae-Lip Suh

  2. Research Institute for Coastal Environment and Fishery-policy, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Jin Hee Wi

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  1. Dong-Hoon Im
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Im, DH., Wi, J.H. & Suh, HL. Evidence for ontogenetic feeding strategies in four calanoid copepods in the East Sea (Japan Sea) in summer, revealed by stable isotope analysis. Ocean Sci. J. 50, 481–490 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12601-015-0044-y

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