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Effect of food concentration and type of diet on Acartia survival and naupliar development

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Abstract

We have performed life table experiments to investigate the effects of different food types and concentrations on the larval development and survival up to adulthood of Acartia tonsa. The food species offered comprised a wide taxonomic spectrum: the pigmented flagellates Isochrysis galbana, Emiliania huxleyi, Rhodomonas sp., Prorocentrum minimum, the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, grown on medium offering enriched macronutrient concentrations and the ciliate Euplotes sp. initially cultured on Rhodomonas. For the ciliate species, also the functional response was studied. In order to avoid limitation by mineral nutrients, food algae have been taken from the exponential growth phase of the nutrient replete cultures. The suitability of Rhodomonas as a food source throughout the entire life cycle was not a surprise. However, in contrast to much of the recent literature about the inadequacy or even toxicity of diatoms, we found that also Thalassiosira could support Acartia-development through the entire life cycle. On the other hand, Acartia could not complete its life cycle when fed with the other food items, Prorocentrum having adverse effects even when mixed with Rhodomonas and Thalassiosira. Isochrysis well supported naupliar survival and development, but was insufficient to support further development until reproduction. With Emiliania and Euplotes, nauplii died off before most of them could reach the first copepodite stages. Acartia-nauplii showed a behavioral preference for Euplotes-feeding over diatom feeding, but nevertheless Euplotes was an insufficient diet to complete development beyond the naupliar stages.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Nicole Aberle-Malzahn for Acartia eggs, Andrea Saage for medium and for a stock culture of Euplotes, and Cordula Stielau for algal stock cultures. These experiments were carried out in the frame of the GLOBEC project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) at Kiel University, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Stefanie M. H. Ismar, Thomas Hansen & Ulrich Sommer

  2. Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, PB 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stefanie M. H. Ismar

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  1. Stefanie M. H. Ismar
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  2. Thomas Hansen
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Correspondence to Stefanie M. H. Ismar.

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Communicated by X. Irigoien.

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Ismar, S.M.H., Hansen, T. & Sommer, U. Effect of food concentration and type of diet on Acartia survival and naupliar development. Mar Biol 154, 335–343 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-0928-9

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