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Trophic impact, metabolism, and biogeochemical role of the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris and the co-dominant copepod Oithona nana in NW Mediterranean coastal waters

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Abstract

In this work we studied the trophic ecology and feeding impact of the cladoceran Penilia avirostris and the cyclopoid copepod Oithona nana, the two dominant zooplankters in the summer communities of the coastal NW Mediterranean, on the naturally occurring microbial communities. In order to ascertain carbon surplus for growth and reproduction and the contribution to carbon and nitrogen recycling of these two species, we also determined their basal metabolism and excretion rates. The experiments conducted during summers 2002, 2003, and 2004 indicate that P. avirostris grazed mostly upon small flagellates, dinoflagellates, and diatoms, whereas O. nana had a narrower prey range, selecting motile organisms such as ciliates and occasionally dinoflagellates. The grazing impact of both species accounted, on average, for <10% of the standing stock of the microbial groups considered. In spite of the oligotrophic conditions, the feeding activity of P. avirostris is in general sufficient to compensate basal metabolism and allows a surplus for growth and reproduction. This was not the case for O. nana, its daily rations being often lower than the carbon basal demands. Regarding excretion rates, both species presented different N:P excretion ratios, the ones of O. nana falling within values typical for copepods, whereas the absence of detectable phosphorus excretion by P. avirostris implied an unbalance recycling with respect to typical Redfield ratio composition of marine seston.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a PhD fellowship from the Spanish Government to D.A., by the Spanish CICYT projects REN2001-1693 to E.S., and CTM2004-02575/MAR and Program Ramón y Cajal from the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain to A.C. We also want to thank the help of the Captain and crew of the Harbour of Masnou, and Pepito and Ramón who kindly provided facilities and access to the sea. Finally, we want to thank Belén Aguilera for her inestimable help counting the samples, and four anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Institut de Ciències del Mar—CMIMA (CSIC), Ps. Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Dacha Atienza, Albert Calbet, Enric Saiz, Miquel Alcaraz & Isabel Trepat

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  1. Dacha Atienza
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  2. Albert Calbet
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Correspondence to Dacha Atienza.

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Communicated by S.A. Poulet, Roscoff

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Atienza, D., Calbet, A., Saiz, E. et al. Trophic impact, metabolism, and biogeochemical role of the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris and the co-dominant copepod Oithona nana in NW Mediterranean coastal waters. Mar Biol 150, 221–235 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0351-z

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