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A matter of time and proportion: the availability of phosphorus-rich phytoplankton influences growth and behavior of copepod nauplii.

ABSTRACT: Although consumers may use selective feeding to cope with suboptimal resource quality, little work has examined the mechanisms that underlie selective feeding, the efficiency of this behavior or its influence on consumer growth rate. Furthermore, a consumer's exposure to suboptimal resources may also influence the consumer's behavior and life history, including growth rate. Here, we studied how the availability of P-rich and P-poor phytoplankton influences the growth and behavior of copepod nauplii. We observed that copepod nauplii preferentially feed on P-rich prey. We also found that even relatively short exposure to P-rich phytoplankton yielded higher nauplii growth rates, whereas the presence of P-poor phytoplankton in a mixture impaired growth. Overall, we observed that swimming speed decreased with increasing phytoplankton P-content, which is a behavioral adjustment that may improve utilization of heterogeneously distributed high-quality food in the field. Based on our results, we propose that the optimal prey C: P ratio for copepod nauplii is very narrow, and that deviations from this optimum have severe negative consequences for growth.

SUBMITTER: Meunier CL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7484934 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A matter of time and proportion: the availability of phosphorus-rich phytoplankton influences growth and behavior of copepod nauplii.

Meunier Cédric L CL Herstoff Emily M EM Geisen Carla C Boersma Maarten M

Journal of plankton research 20200827 5

Although consumers may use selective feeding to cope with suboptimal resource quality, little work has examined the mechanisms that underlie selective feeding, the efficiency of this behavior or its influence on consumer growth rate. Furthermore, a consumer's exposure to suboptimal resources may also influence the consumer's behavior and life history, including growth rate. Here, we studied how the availability of P-rich and P-poor phytoplankton influences the growth and behavior of copepod naup ...[more]

PMID: 32939155

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Project description:Supply of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) to the biosphere has tripled since 1960; however, little is known of how in situ response to N fertilisation differs among phytoplankton, whether species response varies with the chemical form of N, or how interpretation of N effects is influenced by the method of analysis (microscopy, pigment biomarkers). To address these issues, we conducted two 21-day in situ mesocosm (3140 L) experiments to quantify the species- and genus-specific responses of phytoplankton to fertilisation of P-rich lake waters with ammonium (NH(4)(+)), nitrate (NO(3)(-)), and urea ([NH(2)](2)CO). Phytoplankton abundance was estimated using both microscopic enumeration of cell densities and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of algal pigments. We found that total algal biomass increased 200% and 350% following fertilisation with NO(3)(-) and chemically-reduced N (NH(4)(+), urea), respectively, although 144 individual taxa exhibited distinctive responses to N, including compound-specific stimulation (Planktothrix agardhii and NH(4)(+)), increased biomass with chemically-reduced N alone (Scenedesmus spp., Coelastrum astroideum) and no response (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Ceratium hirundinella). Principle components analyses (PCA) captured 53.2-69.9% of variation in experimental assemblages irrespective of the degree of taxonomic resolution of analysis. PCA of species-level data revealed that congeneric taxa exhibited common responses to fertilisation regimes (e.g., Microcystis aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, M. botrys), whereas genera within the same division had widely divergent responses to added N (e.g., Anabaena, Planktothrix, Microcystis). Least-squares regression analysis demonstrated that changes in phytoplankton biomass determined by microscopy were correlated significantly (p<0.005) with variations in HPLC-derived concentrations of biomarker pigments (r(2) = 0.13-0.64) from all major algal groups, although HPLC tended to underestimate the relative abundance of cyanobacteria. Together, these findings show that while fertilisation of P-rich lakes with N can increase algal biomass, there is substantial variation in responses of genera and divisions to specific chemical forms of added N.

Dataset Information

A matter of time and proportion: the availability of phosphorus-rich phytoplankton influences growth and behavior of copepod nauplii.

Publications

A matter of time and proportion: the availability of phosphorus-rich phytoplankton influences growth and behavior of copepod nauplii.

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