Seasonality of cladoceran and bryozoan resting stage δ13C values and implications for their use as palaeolimnological indicators of lacustrine carbon cycle dynamics

Abstract

The stable carbon isotope composition, expressed as δ13C values, of chitinous resting stages of planktivorous invertebrates can provide information on past changes in carbon cycling in lakes. For example, the δ13C values of cladoceran ephippia and bryozoan statoblasts have been used to estimate the past contribution of methane-derived carbon to lake food webs and variations in the δ13C value of planktonic algae. Limited information, however, is available concerning seasonal variations in δ13C values of these organisms and their resting stages. We measured the seasonal variation in δ13C values of Daphnia (Branchiopoda: Cladocera: Daphniidae) and their floating ephippia over a 2-year period in small, dimictic Lake Gerzensee, Switzerland. Floating ephippia of Ceriodaphnia (Branchiopoda: Cladocera: Daphniidae) and statoblasts of Plumatella (Phylactolaemata: Plumatellida: Plumatellidae) were analysed during parts of this period. Furthermore, δ13C values of remains from all three organism groups were analysed in a 62-cm-long sediment core. Throughout the year, Daphnia δ13C values tracked the δ13C values of particulate organic matter (POM), but were more negative than POM, indicating that Daphnia also utilize a relatively 13C-depleted carbon source. Daphnia ephippia δ13C values did not show any pronounced seasonal variation, suggesting that they are produced batch-wise in autumn and/or spring and float for several months. In contrast, δ13C values of Ceriodaphnia ephippia and Plumatella statoblasts followed variations in δ13CPOM values, Ceriodaphnia values being the most negative of the resting stages. Average cladoceran ephippia δ13C values in the flotsam agreed well with ephippia values from Gerzensee surface sediments. In contrast, average Plumatella statoblast δ13C values from the flotsam were 4‰ more negative than in the surface sediments. In the sediment core, δ13C values of the two cladocerans remained low (mean −39.0 and −41.9‰) throughout the record. In contrast, Plumatella had distinctly less negative δ13C values (mean −32.0‰). Our results indicate that in Gerzensee, Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia strongly relied on a 13C-depleted food source throughout the past 150 years, most likely methane-oxidising bacteria, whereas this food source was not a major contribution to the diet of bryozoans.