Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Feeding of Themisto libellula (Amphipoda Crustacea) on natural copepods assemblages in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard)

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ingestion rates and selectivity of the Arctic pelagic amphipod Themisto libellula were studied experimentally in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, 78°N) during the summer period. Feeding incubations were conducted on naturally occurring copepod communities at different concentrations ranging from 25 to 250 preys L−1. The ingestion rates increased with food availability from 1.3 to 17.7 preys ind−1 day−1, which corresponded to 0.3–11% of body carbon day−1. Despite the high prey concentration used in the experiments the satiation level was not reached. We suggested that T. libellula is able to take the maximum benefit from dense patches of preys, which represent a good adaptation to the high variability in food supply characteristic of polar environment. Copepodids stage III of Calanus spp. appeared to be the preferred preys of T. libellula. Smaller copepods such as Oithona similis and Pseudocalanus spp., were also selected but only when their relative abundance exceeded 25% of the total prey available. The potential predation impact of T. libellula is discussed in relation to the mesozooplankton small-scale patchiness and predator abundance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarset AV, Aunaas T (1990) Metabolic responses of the sympagic amphipods Gammarus wilkitzkii and Onisimus glacialis to acute temperature variations. Mar Biol (Berl) 107:433–438. doi:10.1007/BF01313425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson A, Snÿder R (1997) Krill-copepod interactions at South Georgia, Antarctica, I. Omnivory by Euphausia superba. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 160:63–76. doi:10.3354/meps160063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auel H, Werner I (2003) Feeding, respiration and life history of the hyperiid amphipod Themisto libellula in the Arctic marginal ice zone of the Greenland Sea. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 296:183–197. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00321-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auel H, Harjes M, da Rocha R, Stübing D, Hagen W (2002) Lipid biomarkers indicate different ecological niches and trophic relationships of the Arctic hyperiid amphipods Themisto abyssorum and T. libellula. Polar Biol 25:374–383

    Google Scholar 

  • Båmstedt U, Gifford DJ, Irigoien X, Atkinson A, Roman M (2000) Feeding. In: Harris R, Wiebe P, Lenz J, Skjoldal HR, Huntley ME (eds) Zooplankton methodology manual. Academic Press, London, pp 297–399

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Basedow SL, Eiane K, Tverberg V, Spindler M (2004) Advection of zooplankton in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 60:113–124. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2003.12.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman TE (1960) The pelagic amphipod genus Parathemisto (Hyperiidea: Hyperiidae) in the North Pacific and adjacent Arctic Ocean. Proc US Natl Mus 112:343–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesson J (1978) Measuring preference in selective predation. Ecology 59:211–215. doi:10.2307/1936364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ, Huntley M (1991) Copepods in ice-covered seas—distribution, adaptations to seasonally limited food, metabolism, growth patterns and life cycle strategies in polar seas. J Mar Syst 2:1–41. doi:10.1016/0924-7963(91)90011-I

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daase M, Eiane K (2007) Mesozooplankton distribution in northern Svalbard waters in relation to hydrography. Polar Biol 30:969–981. doi:10.1007/s00300-007-0255-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale K, Falk-Petersen S, Hop H, Fevolden SE (2006) Population dynamics and body composition of the Arctic hyperiid amphipod Themisto libellula in Svalbard fjords. Polar Biol 29:1063–1070. doi:10.1007/s00300-006-0150-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalpadado P (2002) Inter-specific variations in distribution, abundance and possible life-cycle patterns of Themisto spp. (Amphipoda) in the Barents Sea. Polar Biol 25:656–666

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalpadado P, Borkner N, Bogstad B, Mehl S (2001) Distribution of Themisto spp. (Amphipoda) in the Barents Sea and predator-prey interactions. ICES J Mar Sci 58:876–895. doi:10.1006/jmsc.2001.1078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalpadado P, Yamaguchi A, Ellertsen B, Johannessen S (2008) Trophic interactions of macro-zooplankton (krill and amphipods) in the Marginal Ice Zone of the Barents Sea. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 55:2266–2274. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.05.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis CS, Flierl GR, Wiebe PH, Franks PJS (1991) Micropatchiness, turbulence and recruitment in plankton. J Mar Res 49:109–151. doi:10.1357/002224091784968602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis CS, Gallager SM, Solow AR (1992) Microaggregations of oceanic plankton observed by towed video microscopy. Science 257:230–232. doi:10.1126/science.257.5067.230

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar MJ (1946) On Themisto libellula in Baffin Island Coastal waters. J Fish Res Board Can 6:419–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar MJ (1957) The determinants of production in the northern seas: a study of the biology of Themisto libellula (Mandt). Can J Zool 35:797–819. doi:10.1139/z57-067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eiane K, Daase M (2002) Observations of mass mortality of Themisto libellula (Amphipoda, Hyperidae). Polar Biol 25:396–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Falk-Petersen S, Sargent JR, Tande KS (1987) Lipid composition of zooplankton in relation to the sub-arctic food web. Polar Biol 8:115–120. doi:10.1007/BF00297065

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Falk-Petersen S, Hopkins CCE, Sargent JR (1990) Trophic relationships in the pelagic Arctic food web. In: Barnes M, Gibson RN (eds) Trophic relationships in the marine environment. Proceedings of 24th European Marine Biology Symposium. Aberdeen University Press, Aberdeen, pp 315–333

  • Falk-Petersen S, Haug T, Nilssen KT, Wold A, Dahl TM (2004) Lipids and trophic linkages in harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) from the eastern Barents Sea. Polar Res 23:43–50. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2004.tb00128.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk-Petersen S, Mayzaud P, Kattner G, Sargent JR (2009) Lipids and life strategy of Arctic Calanus, a review. Mar Biol Res 5:18–39. doi:10.1080/17451000802512267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froneman PW, Pakhomov EA, Treasure A (2000) Trophic importance of the hyperiid amphipod, Themisto gaudichaudii, in the Prince Edward Archipelago (Southern Ocean) ecosystem. Polar Biol 23:429–436. doi:10.1007/s003000050464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagen W, Auel H (2001) Seasonal adaptations and the role of lipids in oceanic zooplankton. Zoology 104:313–326. doi:10.1078/0944-2006-00037

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haug T, Nilssen KT, Lindblom L (2004) Feeding habits of harp and hooded seals in drift ice waters along the east coast of Greenland in summer and winter. Polar Res 23:35–42. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2004.tb00127.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche HJ, Mumm N (1992) Distribution of dominant copepods in the Nansen Basin, Arctic Ocean, in summer. Deep Sea Res 39:485–505. doi:10.1016/S0198-0149(06)80017-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1959a) The components of predation as revealed by a study of small-mammal predation of the European pine sawfly. Can Entomol 91:293–320

    Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1959b) Some characteristics of simple types of predation and parasitism. Can Entomol 91:385–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huntley M (1988) Feeding biology of Calanus: a new perspective. Hydrobiologia 167/168:83–99. doi:10.1007/BF00026296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ikeda T, Skjoldal HR (1989) Metabolism and elemental composition of zooplankton from the Barents Sea during early Arctic summer. Mar Biol (Berl) 100:173–183. doi:10.1007/BF00391956

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kane JE (1963) Observations on the moulting and feeding of a hyperiid amphipod. Crustaceana 6:129–132. doi:10.1163/156854063X00516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein Breteler WCM, Fransz HG, Gonzales SR (1982) Growth and development of four calanoid copepod species under experimental and natural conditions. Neth J Sea Res 16:195–207. doi:10.1016/0077-7579(82)90030-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwasniewski S, Hop H, Falk-Petersen S, Pedersen G (2003) Distribution of Calanus species in Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord in Svalbard. J Plankton Res 25:1–20. doi:10.1093/plankt/25.1.1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee RF, Hagen W, Kattner G (2006) Lipid storage in marine zooplankton. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 307:273–306. doi:10.3354/meps307273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lehman JT (1976) Filter-feeder as an optimal forager, and predicted shapes of feeding curves. Limnol Oceanogr 21:501–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lischka S, Hagen W (2007) Seasonal lipid dynamics of the copepods Pseudocalanus minutus (Calanoida) and Oithona similis (Cycloploida) in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Svalbard). Mar Biol (Berl) 150:443–454. doi:10.1007/s00227-006-0359-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lønne OJ, Gabrielsen GW (1992) Summer diet of seabirds feeding in sea-ice-covered waters near Svalbard. Polar Biol 12:685–692. doi:10.1007/BF00238868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marion A, Harvey M, Chabot D, Brêthes J-C (2008) Feeding ecology and predation impact of the recently established amphipod, Themisto libellula, in the St. Lawrence marine system, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 373:53–70. doi:10.3354/meps07716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchline J (1998) The biology of calanoid copepods. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Moloney CL, Field JG (1989) General allometric equations for rates of nutrient uptake, ingestion, and respiration in plankton organisms. Limnol Oceanogr 34:1290–1299

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nilssen KT, Haug T, Potelov V, Timoshenko YK (1995) Feeding habits of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) during early summer and autumn in the northern Barents Sea. Polar Biol 15:485–493. doi:10.1007/BF00237462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omori M, Hamner WM (1982) Patchy distribution of zooplankton: behaviour, population assessment and sampling problems. Mar Biol (Berl) 72:193–200. doi:10.1007/BF00396920

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pakhomov EA, Perissinotto R (1996) Trophodynamics of the hyperiid amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii in the South Georgia region during late austral summer. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 134:91–100. doi:10.3354/meps134091

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pastorok RA (1981) Prey vulnerability and size selection by Chaoborus larvae. Ecology 62:1311–1324. doi:10.2307/1937295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Percy JA (1993) Energy consumption and metabolism during starvation in the Arctic hyperiid amphipod Themisto libellula Mandt. Polar Biol 13:549–555

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabatini M, Kiørboe T (1994) Egg production, growth and development of the cyclopoid copepod Oithona similis. J Plankton Res 16:1329–1351. doi:10.1093/plankt/16.10.1329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saito H, Kioerboe T (2001) Feeding rates in the chaetognath Sagitta elegans: effects of prey size, prey swimming behaviour and small-scale turbulence. J Plankton Res 23:1385–1398. doi:10.1093/plankt/23.12.1385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherrer B (1984) Biostatistiques. Gaëtan morin, Montréal

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott CL, Falk-Petersen S, Sargent JR, Hop H, Lønne OJ, Poltermann M (1999) Lipids and trophic interactions of ice fauna and pelagic zooplankton in the marginal ice zone of the Barents Sea. Polar Biol 21:65–70. doi:10.1007/s003000050335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheader M, Evans F (1975) Feeding and gut structure of Parathemisto gaudichaudi (Guerin) (Amphipoda, hyperiidea). J Mar Biol Assoc UK 55:641–656. doi:10.1017/S0025315400017306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Søreide JE, Hop H, Carroll ML, Falk-Petersen S, Hegseth EN (2006) Seasonal food web structures and sympagic–pelagic coupling in the European Arctic revealed by stable isotopes and a two-source food web model. Prog Oceanogr 71:59–87. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2006.06.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamelander T, Renaud PE, Hop H, Carroll ML, Ambrose WG Jr, Hobson KA (2006) Trophic relationships and pelagic-benthic coupling during summer in the Barents Sea Marginal Ice Zone, revealed by stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 310:33–46. doi:10.3354/meps310033

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Viitasalo M, Rautio M (1998) Zooplanktivory by Praunus flexuosus (Crustacea: Mysidacea): functional responses and prey selection in relation to prey escape responses. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 174:77–87. doi:10.3354/meps174077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov GM (1999) Deep-sea near-bottom swarms of pelagic amphipods Themisto: observations from submersibles. Sarsia 84:465–467

    Google Scholar 

  • Walkusz W, Storemark K, Skau T, Gannefors C, Lundberg M (2003) Zooplankton community structure; a comparison of fjords, open water and ice stations in the Svalbard area. Pol Polar Res 24:149–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner I, Auel H, Friedrich C (2002) Carnivorous feeding and respiration of the Arctic under-ice amphipod Gammarus wilkitzkii. Polar Biol 25:523–530. doi:10.1007/s00300-002-0376-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weslawski JM, Ryg M, Smith TG, Oritsland NA (1994) Diet of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in a fjord of west Svalbard. Arctic 47:109–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamashita Y, Kitagawa D, Aoyama T (1984) Laboratory studies of predation by the hyperiid amphipod Parathemisto japonica on larvae of the Japanese sand-eel Ammodytes personatus. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 50:1089–1093

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The fieldwork was conducted thanks to Kings Bay A.S., AWIPEV, NPI and Fanny Narcy. This work was part of the PRACEAL project funded by the French Polar Institute Paul Emile Victor (IPEV). The authors thank Nathalie Leblond for her help with the CHN measurements. We also wish to thank Janine Cuzin-Roudy for their relevant comments on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7093, 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France

    Margaux Noyon, Stéphane Gasparini & Patrick Mayzaud

  2. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, CNRS, UMR 7093, 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France

    Margaux Noyon, Stéphane Gasparini & Patrick Mayzaud

Authors
  1. Margaux Noyon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stéphane Gasparini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Patrick Mayzaud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margaux Noyon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Noyon, M., Gasparini, S. & Mayzaud, P. Feeding of Themisto libellula (Amphipoda Crustacea) on natural copepods assemblages in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard). Polar Biol 32, 1559–1570 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0655-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0655-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation