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Stable isotope changes in freshwater shrimps (Exopalaemon modestus and Macrobrachium nipponensis): trophic pattern implications

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Abstract

Trophic patterns of omnivorous freshwater shrimps, Exopalaemon modestus and Macrobrachium nipponensis, were investigated in two shallow eutrophic lakes by using stable isotope analysis. δ15N and δ13C of M. nipponensis and E. modestus increased with increasing body weight, which might be attributed to larger individuals ingesting organisms that feed higher up the food chain and/or increased assimilation of benthic food items with enriched isotopic signatures. Of the freshwater shrimps occurring in the studied lakes, those from Lake Taihu had significantly elevated δ15N and δ13C values (4.3‰ and 1.8‰, respectively) compared with those from the less eutrophic Lake Chaohu, indicating that the isotopic signature might partially reflect the trophic states of their habitats. Mixing model results suggested that the benthic food web provides the primary carbon source for both shrimp species, and that E. modestus assimilated relatively more pelagic food sources than M. nipponensis in these lakes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Zhourui Wen, Longgen Guo, and Qiong Zhou for logistic, field, laboratory, and analytical support. We would also like to thank three anonymous referees for their suggestions, which helped to improve the manuscript. This research was supported by Chinese Nature Science Foundation Projects (Grant Nos. 30530170 and 30600089) and a fund of the field stations from Chinese Academy of Sciences entitled “Constructions of the food webs in Lakes Donghu, Taihu, and Chaohu using δ13C and δ15N”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystem, State Key Lab of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, Peoples Republic of China

    Jun Xu & Ping Xie

  2. Fisheries College, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Peoples Republic of China

    Min Zhang & Ping Xie

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  1. Jun Xu
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  2. Min Zhang
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Correspondence to Ping Xie.

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Xu, J., Zhang, M. & Xie, P. Stable isotope changes in freshwater shrimps (Exopalaemon modestus and Macrobrachium nipponensis): trophic pattern implications. Hydrobiologia 605, 45–54 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9299-y

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