Abstract
Fecal pellets produced by mesozooplanktonic copepods (Centropages velificatus and Paracalanus parvus) and macrozooplanktonic Euphausiacea (Euphausia sp.) were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Fragments of the protozoan Sticholonche zanclea were found in both copepod and in Euphausia sp. fecal pellets, even when the abundance of the protozoan in the water was low. The results suggest that S. zanclea is an important food resource for different trophic levels, including meso- and macrozooplankton, in Brazilian coastal waters.
Highlights
The role of protozooplankton in the trophic structuring of marine ecosystems has become a key focus in studies of the zooplankton food web (Sherr et al, 1989; Kleppel et al, 1991; Tackx et al, 1995; Kivi et al, 1996; Hwang & Hetah, 1997)
Fecal pellets of Euphausia sp. contained dinoflagellate remains (Fig. 2) and amorphous material, which was present in the fecal pellets of C. velificatus (Fig. 3)
The diatom remains observed in the fecal pellets of copepods and Euphausia sp. did not reflect the composition of the available phytoplankton
Summary
The role of protozooplankton in the trophic structuring of marine ecosystems has become a key focus in studies of the zooplankton food web (Sherr et al, 1989; Kleppel et al, 1991; Tackx et al, 1995; Kivi et al, 1996; Hwang & Hetah, 1997). Evidence of the ingestion of protozoans comes, mostly, from predation experiments done in situ or in the laboratory (Paffenhöfer et al, 1995), through the use of biomarkers (Kivi & Setala, 1995; Li et al, 1996), filming (Verity & Paffenhöfer, 1996), or through identification of hard parts such as loricae and skeletal material in gut contents or in fecal pellets (Conover, 1982). Were examined under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These organisms have distinct feeding habitats and body sizes, representing different trophic niches in the SSC
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