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Fate of domoic acid ingested by the copepod Acartia clausi

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Abstract

Two important issues in the studies of harmful algae include ecological role of the toxic compounds and their fate through the food web. The aims of this study were to determine whether the production of domoic acid is a strategy evolved to avoid predation and the role of copepods in the fate of this toxic compound through the food web. The copepod Acartia clausi was fed with single and mixed cultures of the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries and the non-toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima. Ingestion rate as a function of diatom abundance was the same for the toxic and non-toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species, indicating no selective feeding behaviour against P. multiseries. The toxins ingested by the copepods did not affect mortality, feeding behaviour, egg production and egg hatching of the copepods. Copepods assimilated the 4.8% of the total domoic acid ingested. Although the amount of toxins daily detoxificated by the copepods was 63.6%, the copepods accumulated domoic acid in their tissues. We conclude that domoic acid is not toxic for copepods and, probably for this reason, this toxin does not act as feeding deterrent for copepods. However, even though the production of domoic acid has apparently not evolved to deter predation, copepods may play an important role on the fate of this toxic compound through the marine food web.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the crew of R/V ‘J.M. Navaz’ (I.E.O.) for technical support and helpful assistance and to Jefferson Turner for English editing and constructive review. This research was supported by the project EVK3-CT2000-00055 and a FPU grant to A. Barreiro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Vigo, Aptdo. 874, 36200, Vigo, Spain

    Isabel Maneiro, Paula Iglesias, Cástor Guisande, Isabel Riveiro & Aldo Barreiro

  2. Hellenic Center for Marine Research, 46.7 km Athens Sounio, Mavro Lithari, Anavissos Attica, 712-19013, Greece

    Soultana Zervoudaki

  3. Marine Sciences Department, University of Kalmar, 391-82, Kalmar, Sweden

    Edna Granéli

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  1. Isabel Maneiro
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  2. Paula Iglesias
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  3. Cástor Guisande
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Correspondence to Isabel Maneiro.

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Communicated by S. A. Poulet, Roscoff

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Maneiro, I., Iglesias, P., Guisande, C. et al. Fate of domoic acid ingested by the copepod Acartia clausi . Marine Biology 148, 123–130 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0054-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0054-x

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