Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning
Pseudocalanus copepods are small, abundant zooplankton in the Bering Sea ecosystem that play an important role in transferring primary production to fish and other higher trophic-level predators. Four morphologically cryptic species, the primarily arctic Pseudocalanus minutus and Pseudocalanus acusp...
Published in: | Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:gsofacpubs-2211 2023-12-03T10:17:33+01:00 Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning Cleary, Alison C. Durbin, Edward G. Rynearson, Tatiana A. Bailey, Jennifer 2016-12-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/1242 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/1242 doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications 18S rDNA Bering Sea Niche partitioning Pseudocalanus Trophic interactions text 2016 ftunivrhodeislan https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 2023-11-06T19:10:02Z Pseudocalanus copepods are small, abundant zooplankton in the Bering Sea ecosystem that play an important role in transferring primary production to fish and other higher trophic-level predators. Four morphologically cryptic species, the primarily arctic Pseudocalanus minutus and Pseudocalanus acuspes, and the more temperate Pseudocalanus newmani and Pseudocalanus mimus, are found within the Bering Sea. Pseudocalanus are generally considered phytoplanktivores. However, their feeding is poorly known, despite their importance to the ecosystem. In situ feeding by the three most abundant Pseudocalanus congeners, P. minutus, P. newmani, and P. acuspes, was investigated by sequencing partial 18S rDNA (ribosomal Deoxyribonucleic Acid) of gut contents from 225 individuals sampled from 8 stations across the Bering Sea in May and June of 2010. The 28,456 prey 18S rDNA sequences obtained clustered into 138 distinct prey items with a 97% similarity cut-off, and included diatoms, dinoflagellates, microzooplankton, mesozooplankton, and vascular plants. Pseudocalanus diets reflected variations in the environment, with phytoplankton sequences relatively more abundant in copepods from stations with higher water-column chlorophyll a concentrations. Feeding differences were observed between species. P. acuspes diet contained relatively more heterotrophic dinoflagellate sequences, and was significantly different from that of P. minutus and P. newmani, both of which contained relatively more diatom sequences, and between which no significant difference was observed. Feeding differences between the two primarily arctic species may be a mechanism of niche partitioning between these spatially co-located congeners and may have implications for the effects of climate change on the success of these abundant zooplankters and their many predators in this ecosystem. Text Arctic Bering Sea Climate change Phytoplankton Pseudocalanus minutus Zooplankton Copepods University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI Arctic Bering Sea Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 134 181 189 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
op_collection_id |
ftunivrhodeislan |
language |
unknown |
topic |
18S rDNA Bering Sea Niche partitioning Pseudocalanus Trophic interactions |
spellingShingle |
18S rDNA Bering Sea Niche partitioning Pseudocalanus Trophic interactions Cleary, Alison C. Durbin, Edward G. Rynearson, Tatiana A. Bailey, Jennifer Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
topic_facet |
18S rDNA Bering Sea Niche partitioning Pseudocalanus Trophic interactions |
description |
Pseudocalanus copepods are small, abundant zooplankton in the Bering Sea ecosystem that play an important role in transferring primary production to fish and other higher trophic-level predators. Four morphologically cryptic species, the primarily arctic Pseudocalanus minutus and Pseudocalanus acuspes, and the more temperate Pseudocalanus newmani and Pseudocalanus mimus, are found within the Bering Sea. Pseudocalanus are generally considered phytoplanktivores. However, their feeding is poorly known, despite their importance to the ecosystem. In situ feeding by the three most abundant Pseudocalanus congeners, P. minutus, P. newmani, and P. acuspes, was investigated by sequencing partial 18S rDNA (ribosomal Deoxyribonucleic Acid) of gut contents from 225 individuals sampled from 8 stations across the Bering Sea in May and June of 2010. The 28,456 prey 18S rDNA sequences obtained clustered into 138 distinct prey items with a 97% similarity cut-off, and included diatoms, dinoflagellates, microzooplankton, mesozooplankton, and vascular plants. Pseudocalanus diets reflected variations in the environment, with phytoplankton sequences relatively more abundant in copepods from stations with higher water-column chlorophyll a concentrations. Feeding differences were observed between species. P. acuspes diet contained relatively more heterotrophic dinoflagellate sequences, and was significantly different from that of P. minutus and P. newmani, both of which contained relatively more diatom sequences, and between which no significant difference was observed. Feeding differences between the two primarily arctic species may be a mechanism of niche partitioning between these spatially co-located congeners and may have implications for the effects of climate change on the success of these abundant zooplankters and their many predators in this ecosystem. |
format |
Text |
author |
Cleary, Alison C. Durbin, Edward G. Rynearson, Tatiana A. Bailey, Jennifer |
author_facet |
Cleary, Alison C. Durbin, Edward G. Rynearson, Tatiana A. Bailey, Jennifer |
author_sort |
Cleary, Alison C. |
title |
Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
title_short |
Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
title_full |
Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
title_fullStr |
Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding by Pseudocalanus copepods in the Bering Sea: Trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
title_sort |
feeding by pseudocalanus copepods in the bering sea: trophic linkages and a potential mechanism of niche partitioning |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/1242 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 |
geographic |
Arctic Bering Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea |
genre |
Arctic Bering Sea Climate change Phytoplankton Pseudocalanus minutus Zooplankton Copepods |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea Climate change Phytoplankton Pseudocalanus minutus Zooplankton Copepods |
op_source |
Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/1242 doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.001 |
container_title |
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
container_volume |
134 |
container_start_page |
181 |
op_container_end_page |
189 |
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1784264491458887680 |