Abstract
We have re-evaluated the experimental methods and statistical procedures used to determine the relationship between feeding rates of pelagic herbivores and food concentration. Analysis of our own experiments, on Calanus pacificus feeding on Gyrodinium resplendens, and of other published research on this subject suggests the need for improvements in experimental design and methodology. We show that the use of “mean concentration” is statistically erroneous. First, it produces an artificial increase in the degrees of freedom that may result in the acceptance of nonsignificant regression lines. Second, it negates the value of replication, which is required to estimate sources of error. We present an example of how replication may be used to improve control over sources of error. Furthermore, we recommend the use of initial concentration rather than mean concentration. Finally, we introduce alternative methods to determine clearance and ingestion rates that enable the investigator to use replication and thus to estimate experimental errors.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Barthel, K.-G.: Food uptake and growth of Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda: Calanoida). Mar. Biol. 74, 269–274 (1983)
Cochran, W. and G. M. Cox: Experimental design, 611 pp. New York: Wiley & Sons 1957
Conover, R. J. and P. Mayzaud: Utilization of phytoplankton by zooplankton during the spring bloom in a Nova Scotia inlet. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sciences 41, 232–244 (1984)
Deason, E. E.: Grazing of Acartia hudsonica (A. clausii) on Skeletonema costatum in Narragansett Bay (USA): influence of food concentration and temperature. Mar. Biol. 60, 101–113 (1980)
Deibel, D.: Laboratory-measured grazing and ingestion rates of the salp, Thalia democratica Forskal, and the doliolid, Dolioletta gegenbauri Uljanin (Tunicata, Thaliacea). J. Plankton Res. 4, 189–201 (1982)
Fernández, F.: Nutrition studies in the nauplius larva of Calanus pacificus (Copepoda: Calanoida). Mar. Biol. 53, 131–147 (1979)
Frost, B. W.: Effects of size and concentration of food particles on the feeding behavior of the marine planktonic copepod Calanus pacificus. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17, 805–814 (1972)
Frost, B. W.: Feeding behavior of Calanus pacificus in mixtures of food particles. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 472–492 (1977)
Glasser, J. W.: Analysis of zooplankton feeding experiments: some methodological considerations. J. Plankton Res. 6, 553–569 (1984)
Haq, S.: Nutritional physiology of Metridia lucens and M. longa from the Gulf of Maine. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 40–51 (1967)
Harvey, H. W.: Note on selective feeding by Calanus. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 22, 97–100 (1937)
Holling, C. S.: The functional response of invertebrate predators to prey density. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 48, 1–86 (1966)
Huntley, M.: Nonselective, nonsaturated feeding by three calanid copepod species in the Labrador Sea. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26, 831–842 (1981)
Huntley, M.: A method for estimating food-limitation and potential production of zooplankton communities. Arch. Hydrobiol. (Beih. Ergebn. Limnol.). 21, 41–55 (1985)
Huntley, M. E., K.-G. Barthel and J. L. Star: Particle rejection by Calanus pacificus: discrimination between similarly sized particles. Mar. Biol. 74, 151–160 (1983)
Huntley, M. (E.) and C. M. Boyd: Food limited growth of marine zooplankton. Am. Nat. 124, 455–478 (1984)
Ikeda, T.: Feeding rate of planktonic copepods from a tropical sea. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 29, 263–277 (1977)
Lam, R. and B. Frost: Model of copepod filtering response to changes in size and concentration of food. Limnol. Oceanogr. 21, 490–500 (1976)
Lampert, W.: Inhibitory and toxic effects of blue-green algae on Daphnia. Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol. 66, 285–298 (1981)
Lampitt, R. S. and J. C. Gamble: Diet and respiration of the planktonic marine copepod Oithona nana. Mar. Biol. 66, 185–190 (1982)
Lund, J. W. G., C. Kipling and E. D. Le Cren: The inverted microscope method of estimating algal numbers, and the statistical basis of estimation by counting. Hydrobiologia 11, 143–170 (1958)
Mullin, M.: Some factors affecting the feeding of marine copepods of the genus Calanus. Limnol. Oceanogr. 8, 239–250 (1963)
Mullin, M. and E. R. Brooks: The effect of concentration of food on body weight, cumulative ingestion and rate of growth of the marine copepod C. helgolandicus. Limnol. Oceanogr. 15, 753–755 (1970)
Omori, M. and T. Ikeda: Methods in marine zooplankton ecology, 332 pp. New York: Wiley 1984
Paffenhöfer, G.-A.: Continuous and nocturnal feeding of the marine planktonic copepod Calanus helgolandicus. Bull. mar. Sci. 26, 49–58 (1976)
Paffenhöfer, G.-A. and R. P. Harris: Feeding, growth and reproduction of the marine planktonic copepod Pseudocalanus elongatus Boeck. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 56, 327–344 (1976)
Peters, R. H.: Methods for the study of feeding, grazing and assimilation by zooplankton. In: A manual on methods for the assessment of secondary productivity in fresh waters, 2nd ed. pp 336–412. Ed. by J. A. Downing and F. H. Rigler. Oxford: Blackwell 1984 (IBP Handbook No. 17)
Porter, K., J. Gerritsen and J. Orcutt: The effect of food concentration on swimming pattern, feeding behavior, assimilation and respiration by Daphnia. Limnol. Oceanogr. 27, 935–949 (1982)
Rigler, F. H.: The relation between concentration of food and feeding rate of Daphnia magna Straus. Can. J. Zool. 39, 857–868 (1961)
Rigler, F. H.: Feeding rates. In: A manual on methods for the assessment of secondary productivity in freshwaters, pp 228–256. Ed. by W. T. Edmonson and G. G. Winberg. Oxford: Blackwell 1971 (IBP Handbook No. 17)
Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf: Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 2nd ed. 859 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co. 1981
Steele, J. H. and B. W. Frost: The structure of plankton communities. Proc. R. Soc. (Ser. B) 280, 485–535 (1977)
Steele, J. H. and M. M. Mullin: Zooplankton dynamics. In: The sea, Vol. 6. pp 857–890. Ed. by E. D. Goldberg. New York: Wiley-Interscience 1977
Taguchi, S. and M. Fukuchi: Filtration rate of zooplankton community during spring bloom in Akeshi Bay. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 19, 145–164 (1975)
Turner, J. T. and D. M. Anderson: Zooplankton grazing during dinoflagellate blooms in a Cape Cod embayment with observations of predation upon tintinnids by copepods. Pubbl. Staz. zool. Napoli (I: Mar. Ecol.) 4, 359–374 (1983)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. S. Carney, Moss Landing
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marin, V., Huntley, M.E. & Frost, B. Measuring feeding rates of pelagic herbivores: analysis of experimental design and methods. Marine Biology 93, 49–58 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428654
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428654