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Experimental evidence for internal predation in microzooplankton communities

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Abstract

The fate of microzooplankton production, whether it is channeled to mesozooplankton or recycled within the microbial food web, has major implications for the oceanic carbon cycle. The aim of this study was to estimate internal predation within naturally occurring microzooplankton communities. A dilution series based on the Landry and Hasset technique was created by mixing 200-μm-screened water (used as whole water) with 5-μm-screened seawater due to the dominance of pico- and small nanoplankton at our study site. This modification of the original technique allows for gradual reduction in microzooplankton abundance and thus internal predation while maintaining sufficient phytoplankton prey levels for microzooplankton growth in diluted treatments. Microzooplankton growth and mortality rates were calculated based on the changes in abundance during 24-h incubation. In the diluted treatments, microzooplankton growth rates were significantly higher (1.21 ± 0.20 day−1 for ciliates and 0.88 ± 0.05 day−1 for heterotrophic dinoflagellates) compared to those in whole seawater where microzooplankton abundance remained unchanged or even declined over time. Approximately 79 % of microzooplankton production was consumed within the microzooplankton, with aloricate ciliates being the most vulnerable to predation. These findings support the assumption that trophic interactions between microzooplankton can be an important factor controlling their production and, thus, energy transfer in picoplankton-dominated pelagic ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Vincenzo Saggiomo and to all our colleagues of the Management and Ecology of Coastal Area Department of the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn of Naples, Italy, for the scientific and technical support provided during the whole period of our research. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the effort of the crew of the RV “Vettoria.” Thanks are due to Drs. Peter Lavrentyev and Francisco Moore of the Biology Department of the University of Akron, OH, USA, for their very helpful criticism of the manuscript. We would also like to thank the unknown referees for their comments, which contributed to improving the manuscript.

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  1. Gayantonia Franzé

    Present address: University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA

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  1. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy

    Gayantonia Franzé & Monica Modigh

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Communicated by U. Sommer.

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Franzé, G., Modigh, M. Experimental evidence for internal predation in microzooplankton communities. Mar Biol 160, 3103–3112 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2298-1

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