Primary Food Source Research Articles

Fundamentos da assistência de enfermagem na atenção primária às gestantes ribeirinhas afetadas pelo despejo de mercúrio em corpos d’agua

The aim was to present a proposal for a protocol for nursing care for the health of pregnant women living in riverside communities exposed to the risk of mercury poisoning irregularly dumped in water bodies where fish is the primary food source of the local population. To achieve the proposed objective, it was decided to collect the data that guided the elaboration of the proposed research protocol through a bibliographic survey on the platforms and virtual databases of the Virtual Health Library, LILACS and SciELO, with a period between 2013 and 2020. Mercury has a cumulative effect on the body, therefore, exposure can cause changes at systemic levels, and affect gestational development. The role of nursing in this context is important because such educational-prophylactic measures constitute care based on the principles of the National Primary Care Policy, focused on the individualities of a population (social, economic and cultural activities) and on the risks to which the health of this population can be exposed. It is concluded that the adequate orientation of the community in relation to the risks of contamination of the body by mercury is a competence of nursing and that a protocol for nursing care is important to guide primary health care.

Plant Bioelectronics and Biohybrids: The Growing Contribution of Organic Electronic and Carbon-Based Materials.

Life in our planet is highly dependent on plants as they are the primary source of food, regulators of the atmosphere, and providers of a variety of materials. In this work, we review the progress on bioelectronic devices for plants and biohybrid systems based on plants, therefore discussing advancements that view plants either from a biological or a technological perspective, respectively. We give an overview on wearable and implantable bioelectronic devices for monitoring and modulating plant physiology that can be used as tools in basic plant science or find application in agriculture. Furthermore, we discuss plant-wearable devices for monitoring a plant’s microenvironment that will enable optimization of growth conditions. The review then covers plant biohybrid systems where plants are an integral part of devices or are converted to devices upon functionalization with smart materials, including self-organized electronics, plant nanobionics, and energy applications. The review focuses on advancements based on organic electronic and carbon-based materials and discusses opportunities, challenges, as well as future steps.

NERACA KETERSEDIAAN BERAS DI KALIMANTAN TIMUR SEBAGAI CALON IBUKOTA BARU INDONESIA DENGAN PENDEKATAN SISTEM DINAMIK

<p class="A04-abstrak3">Rice is the main and strategic commodity in East Kalimantan Province as primary food source. Rice production in this province was relatively low, around 66.57% of its consumption need, or at 33.43% deficit in 2019. This deficit will continue to increase if East Kalimantan becomes the country's capital city in 2025 due to arrival of new residents. Therefore, a proper policy to improve the balance of rice production and consumption need should be designed. This study aimed to develop rice availability balance model and formulate policy recommendation to fullfil the rice needs in the country's capital city candidate. The method used was dynamic system approach as rice balance availability determined by supply and demand sub-system. The study results showed that the model developed could describe the rice availability balance in East Kalimantan and had good validity level. Based on the simulation results on the existing condition in 2025, the rice availability in East Kalimantan as the country's capital city was only 44.80% of the consumption need. A recommended policy scenario to improve the rice balance in this provionce is the combination of policies on production and consumption sides, namely minimal rice planting index at 1.9 (irrigation) and 1.2 (without irrigation), minimum rice yield at 4.67 tons per ha (irrigation) and 3.50 ton per ha (without irrigation), open up new rice field at 1,000 ha, no rice field conversion, conversion rate from unhusk paddy to rice yield at 64%, and maximum per capita rice consumption at 80 kg/year.</p>

Reign of Utpala Dyansty with Special Reference to Avantiverman (855-883 A.D): His Irrigation Works and Agricultural Development-A Historical Study

In Rajatarangni, dynasties in ancient Kashmir that dated from the time of the Mahabartha epic to the reign of Sangrama Deva are vividly portrayed. Of all the kings of ancient Kashmir, Avantivarman, who established the Utpalas dynasty in 1855 A.D., was the most magnificent. In terms of prosperity, he ruled during the rippling times of peace and plenty, which coincided with Kashmir reaching its pinnacle around a quarter of a century into his rule. The people had never been happier than they were in his day, nor had they been for generations. Therefore, Avantivarman rule represents a very wonderful era in Kashmir's history. A new period in that nation's history began with Avantivarman taking control of events in the valley. His rule not only provided respite to Kashmir's suffering people, but it also significantly restored the Karkota's former luster, as will be seen. Avantivarman, a descendant of the Kalyapala family and the grandson of Utpalas, who had played a crucial role in the final years of the Karkota monarchy, was previously mentioned. Avantivarman has the traits of intellect and heart that allow him to be recognised as one of the valley's most capable kings, while not being by any means a member of some aristocratic and distinguished family. The study's goal is to explain and analyze Avantivarman legacy and reign during the Utpalas Dynasty in Jammu and Kashmir. It also highlights his contributions during his time in power there. Fertile soil and abundant water availability in Kashmir have made agriculture the primary food and economic source for the region from ancient times. During Avantivarman's rule, both the people and the state's economic prosperity improved significantly due to political stability and beneficial peace conditions. Large-scale drainage and irrigation systems played an important role in this. All of these tasks were made easier by the irrigation minister (Suyya).

Characterizing the role of phosphorus availability and periphytic algae in the food choice and performance of detritivorous caddisflies (Trichoptera:Limnephilidae)

AbstractOrganisms that rely on detritus as their primary food source may face particularly strong nutritional constraints on growth and development, given the characteristically poor quality of det...

Dugong feeding grounds and spatial feeding patterns in subtidal seagrass: A case study at Sibu Archipelago, Malaysia

In Southeast Asia, seagrass meadows are under threat through coastal development and increased pollution, but remain understudied. The dugong is a marine herbivore that is dependent on the availability of seagrass as a primary food source. In this study, we assess the patterns of co-occurrence between dugongs and seagrass. We hypothesize that the changing spatial patterns of dugong feeding are positively correlated to the seasonal variation in distribution and abundance of mixed species in subtidal tropical seagrass meadows. We documented seagrass cover and dugong feeding trails in the Sibu Archipelago meadow in Johor, Malaysia, across the monsoon seasons of 2016–2017 using an underwater towed video method. Moran's I and Getis-Ord Gi* statistics were used to quantify the degree of clustering in feeding trails, feeding patch size, and to identify feeding hotspots and coldspots. This site has the single largest subtidal meadow in Peninsular Malaysia known to date, measuring 12.88 km2. The study captured a reduction in seagrass extent and coverage during the study. Feeding trail occurrence averaged three per image throughout the seasons, with the maximum number being 14 trails per image. Dugongs fed in a spatially clustered manner leaving two distinct feeding trail patterns: (1) a dispersed pattern when seagrass cover was high or low (76–100% and 0–25%) that resulted in larger patch sizes, and (2) a concentrated pattern in moderate seagrass cover (26–75%) that resulted in smaller patch size. Feeding hotspots and coldspots had significantly different seagrass cover, suggesting that dugongs foraged strategically within the meadow. Our results demonstrate that seagrass cover played a significant role in driving dugong feeding patterns and in creating feeding hotspots and coldspots in tropical subtidal meadows.

Elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates from the Hudson River Watershed

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of global concern due to their persistence and associated negative health effects. Considerable attention has been given to monitoring PFAS in the aquatic environment, however, few investigations have done so using freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs). As these bottom-dwelling animals are known to bioconcentrate exogenous pollutants to a high degree, studying their PFAS levels may provide a more integrated view of PFAS contamination in the aquatic environment. In this study, BMIs, sediment, and surface water were collected from two streams in the Hudson River Watershed (one historically-impacted by PFAS) and analyzed for 44 PFAS using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was used to confirm the identities of quantitated analytes. Across all matrices, 17 analytes were detected with PFOA dominating in surface water and PFOS in sediment/BMIs. PFOS bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were approximately one order of magnitude higher than those of PFOA and ranged from 857 to 5151 L kg−1 across different BMI taxa. While PFAS concentrations in surface water and sediment were not excessively high, elevated levels were still measured in most BMI taxa. This observation suggests that the extent of PFAS contamination in a local system may be severely underestimated if only surface water and sediment are used for monitoring. Moreover, these findings have relevance for human exposure assessment considering BMIs are the primary food source of many fish.

Field‐Based Estimation of Net Primary Productivity and Its Above‐ and Belowground Partitioning in Global Grasslands

AbstractNet primary productivity (NPP) in global grasslands is a critical component of terrestrial carbon cycling and the primary source of food for herbivores. However, the size and spatial distribution of NPP across global grasslands remain unclear, especially for belowground NPP (BNPP), which limits our understanding of above‐ and belowground carbon cycling and the assessments of herbivore food security. Here, we compiled a comprehensive grassland NPP database with 1,467 field measurements to estimate the spatial distributions of aboveground NPP (ANPP), BNPP, total NPP (TNPP), and the fraction of BNPP (fBNPP) using the random forest (RF) model. The global mean grassland ANPP, BNPP, TNPP, and fBNPP were 433 ± 31 g m−2 yr−1, 593 ± 47 g m−2 yr−1, 979 ± 78 g m−2 yr−1, and 0.54 ± 0.02, respectively. The total ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP over global grasslands were 6.84 ± 0.49, 9.36 ± 0.74, and 15.46 ± 1.23 Pg C yr−1, respectively. ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP exhibited decreasing trends from low latitudes toward the poles. The spatial pattern of fBNPP was almost opposite to that of ANPP. Climate was a major determinant in shaping the spatial distribution of ANPP and TNPP, while soil and vegetation had significant impacts on that of BNPP and fBNPP. Our findings suggest that field data‐driven estimation of NPP using the RF model could be a useful approach for obtaining spatially explicit NPP of grasslands, particularly BNPP products, and that more attention should be paid on belowground and non‐climatic factors to better assess the carbon cycle in global grasslands.

Phytoplankton Fuel Fish Food Webs in a Low-Turbidity Temperate Coastal Embayment: A Stable Isotope Approach

Trophic contributions of diverse OM sources to estuarine and coastal food webs differ substantially across systems around the world, particularly for nekton (fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans), which utilize basal resources from multiple sources over space and time because of their mobility and feeding behaviors at multiple trophic levels. We investigated the contributions of putative OM sources to fish food webs and assessed the spatiotemporal patterns, structures, and trophic connectivity in fish food webs across four seasons from three closely spaced (10–15 km) sites: an estuarine channel (EC), a deep bay (DB), and an offshore (OS) region in Gwangyang Bay, a high-productivity, low-turbidity estuarine embayment off the Republic of Korea. While nearly all previous studies have focused on few representative species, we examined δ13C and δ15N values of whole nekton communities along with dominant benthic macro-invertebrates, zooplankton, and their putative primary food sources. The δ13C and δ15N values coupled with MixSIAR, a Bayesian mixing model, revealed that these communities utilized multiple primary producers, but phytoplankton comprised the primary trophic contributor (46.6–69.1%). Microphytobenthos (15.8–20.4%) and the seagrass Zostera marina (8.6–19.8%) made substantial contributions, but the role of river-borne terrestrial organic matter was negligible. Spatially different species composition and stable isotope values, but higher utilization of coastal phytoplankton by estuarine fish, indicated disparate food webs structures between the EC and DB/OS coastal areas, with considerable trophic connectivity. Greater overlaps in fish and cephalopod isotopic niches than among other consumers and a higher estimated carbon trophic enrichment factor for EC nekton confirmed feeding migration-mediated biological transport of coastal OM sources to the estuary. Further, the seasonally consistent structures and resource utilization patterns indicate that fish food webs are resilient to changes at lower trophic levels. Our results contrast with those for other highly turbid coastal systems depending highly on diversified basal sources, including exported terrestrial and wetland detritus alongside autochthonous phytoplankton. Finally, this study provides a novel perspective on the role of OM sources in such low turbidity and highly productive coastal embayments and enhances our understanding of marine ecosystems.

XƏZƏR DƏNİZİ EKOSİSTEMİNDƏ MAKROFİTLƏR VƏ ONLARIN EKOLOGİYASI

Algae is a phototrophic organism and is the primary and main food source of organic matter. They can originate organic matter from inorganic substances such as, dry plants. In the process of photosynthesis, they release O2 and absorb CO2 and make it possible for the entire marine animal population. Macrophytobenthos plays a crutial role in the coastal ecosystem of the Caspian Sea. Macrophytes and seaweed provide a sustainable flow of organic matter to heterotrophic organisms and create a plant biotope for invertebrates and phytophilic fish. The dynamics of aquatic vegetation mainly determines changes in benthic communities, their distribution and resources. The level of the Caspian Sea and its salinity determine the distribution of aquatic plants, phytobenthos and of course fluctuations and changes in the level of the Caspian Sea play an important role in the dynamics of aquatic vegetation. Key words: Caspian Sea, macrophytes, flora, ecosystem, macrophytobentos

Allelopathic interactions between phytobenthos and meiofaunal community in an Adriatic benthic ecosystem: Understanding the role of aldehydes and macroalgal structural complexity

Macroalgae produce several allelopathic substances, including polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), which may inhibit photosynthesis and growth rates of other algal species, and grazing. Additionally, macroalgal structural complexity is an important factor in determining abundance patterns and size structure of epiphytic organisms.In this study the PUAs production of two Mediterranean macroalgae, Dictyopteris polypodioides, (DP, Phaeophyceae, Dictyotales) and Cystoseira compressa (CC, Phaeophyceae, Fucales), was characterized to clarify the relationships between the meiobenthic and microphytobenthic communities. Results showed a higher PUAs production and a diverse qualitative profile for DP, which reported long-chain compounds (i.e. C14-C16) as main aldehydes, than CC, with the short-chain C6:2 as the main compound, as well as variability among sampling times. A clear separation of the meiofauna and microphytobenthos assemblages was found for the macroalgae, but with different temporal trends. Dissimilarities were due to five microalgal orders, namely Naviculales, Lyrellales, Gonyaulacales (i.e. Ostreopsis), Bacillariales, and Licmophorales, and to the meiofaunal groups nematodes, copepods, and copepod nauplii, which were more abundant on DP than on CC. Results indicate that macroalgal complexity is a major determinant of the meiofaunal community structure (accounting for 26% of the variation), rather than PUAs production itself (17%). PUAs effects seem species-specific, thus affecting some grazers instead of the entire community. Conversely, microphytobenthos affected the meiofauna assemblages, particularly harpacticoids, confirming the role of these organisms as the primary food source of all marine food chain producers. Since PUAs are produced also by several epiphytic diatoms, the understanding of their effects on the community structure and on the relationships among taxa in the field is complicated and requires further in-depth investigations in simplified systems (i.e. microcosms).

Diversity And Indigenous Knowledge About The Use Of Wild Edible Plants As Food By The K'ho Community In Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, South Vietnam

Wild edible plants are the primary food source used by communities in National Parks, Nature Reserves, and natural forests for their daily meals. Based on the combination of the household survey method with the Participatory Rapid Assessment (PRA) and a transect investigation, we discovered the knowledge about the use of wild edible plants of the K'Ho people in the Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province. A total of 73 species, 66 genera of 47 families belonging to three phyta, were used as food by the K'Ho people. Nine life forms and eight parts of edible plants have been identified, herbaceous and leave with the highest number of species used by the locals. These species were most commonly found in primary and secondary forests, while others were scattered in pine, swamp, and bamboo forests. The study showed that young people know little about edible plants, while middle-aged and older adults know much about them. The locals have used nine food type groups: soup and vegetable, cooking groups. Cooking soup, boiling, and eating fresh were the most common processing methods. Nine kinds of edible plants were planted in their home gardens.

Prediksi Data Time-series menggunakan Jaringan Syaraf Tiruan Algoritma Backpropagation Pada Kasus Prediksi Permintaan Beras

Recently, Indonesia, as a country where the majority of the population chooses rice as the primary food source, gets a decline in the rice consumption patterns, which resulted in reduced demand for rice that should have been stable. The decrease of rice purchasing power impacts several rice suppliers, commonly referred to as rice agents, to buy rice from rice production companies. Therefore, prediction of rice stock is essential to do. This paper aims to apply the backpropagation neural network method to forecast the amount of rice demand. The data used in the study is time-series data in the form of the number of requests for rice as much as 609 data from two types of rice. The modeling scenario in this study applies one to five hidden layers with a different number of hidden neurons in each experiment. The elastic net regularization method was applied after the data denormalization process to improve the quality of the resulting model. Based on the experiments, obtained the best model on architecture 7-50-200-300-250-300-1 with MSE = 0.001278, RMSE = 0.301950 in the training process and MSE results = 0.002391, RMSE = 0.204972 in the testing process.

Welfare impacts of non-farm employment in semi-arid areas: evidence from Burkina Faso

While several studies have linked rural welfare with non-farm employment, the available evidence suggests that whether participation in non-farm employment is welfare improving is intrinsically an empirical question. In addition, the existing literature places emphasis on food and total household expenditure such that there is a dearth of evidence as far as the role of non-food expenditure is concerned. Using household survey data from Burkina Faso, this paper shows that the extent of the impact varies with types of non-farm employment and household expenditure. The results show that participation in wage employment does not affect any type of expenditure. Non-farm self-employment during the dry season increases non-food expenditure but has no significant effect on food expenditure. Non-farm self-employment during both dry and cropping seasons, and total non-farm employment are associated with higher food and non-food expenditures, with higher impact on non-food expenditure. The general pattern of the results suggests that smallholder farmers tend to classify agriculture as the primary source of food while incomes from non-farm sources are preferably oriented towards non-food consumption. From a policy perspective, this shows that promoting the rural non-farm economy will improve welfare in the semi-arid areas. Potential areas of interventions include (i) implementation of the minimum guarantee wage scheme to improve earnings from wage employment and, (ii) development of a vibrant rural credit scheme to improve access to non-farm self-employment.

Olfactory detection of trace amounts of plant volatiles is correlated with testosterone in a passerine bird

In response to damage by insects, plants release herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) into the air. Insectivorous birds exploit these cues and, consequently, reduce the damages inflicted to the plants. However, little is known about whether they solely use HIPVs as foraging cues, or if they also use them to modulate traits linked to reproduction. As caterpillars are the primary food source required for insectivorous birds to raise offspring, their ability to locate and predict future peaks in caterpillar biomass using olfaction is likely to be advantageous. Therefore, we tested whether an insectivorous songbird that naturally inhabits oak dominated forests can be trained to detect early spring infestation by hatchling caterpillars, at a time when oaks begin bursting, and birds prepare to breed. Tree buds were either infested with caterpillars or left as a control and visually obscured in a Y-Maze choice test. Additionally, we measured testosterone and 17β-estradiol as they influence olfactory perception in mammals and are linked to reproduction in vertebrates. After being trained to associate the presence of HIPVs with that of food, blue tits spent more time with, were more active around, and more frequently chose to first visit the infested trees, showing that blue tits can smell caterpillar activity. Males with higher testosterone spent more time around infested trees, suggesting that foraging behavior during the pre-breeding season is linked with a major reproductive signal. There was no relationship between foraging and estradiol in females. These results are an important foundation for further investigation of the role of hormones in avian olfaction and how smell may be useful for making breeding decisions that could improve reproductive success.

Red Panda feces from Eastern Himalaya as a modern analogue for palaeodietary and palaeoecological analyses

Modern feces samples of the endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens) were examined using multiproxy analysis to characterize the dietary patterns in their natural habitat in India. An abundance of Bambusoideae phytoliths and leaves (macrobotanical remains) provide direct evidence of their primary dietary plants. In contrast, Bambusoideae pollen is sporadic or absent in the pollen assemblages. An abundance of Lepisorus spores and its leaves along with broadleaved taxa, Betula, Engelhardtia, and Quercus are indicative of other important food sources. Average δ13C values (− 29.6‰) of the red panda feces indicate typical C3 type of plants as the primary food source, while the, δ15N values vary in narrow range (3.3–5.1‰) but conspicuously reveal a seasonal difference in values most likely due to differing metabolic activities in summer and winter. The multiproxy data can provide a baseline for the reconstruction of the palaeodietary and palaeoecology of extinct herbivores at both regional and global scales.

Ecosystem engineering alters density-dependent feedbacks in an aquatic insect population.

Ecosystem engineers have large impacts on the communities in which they live, and these impacts may feed back to populations of engineers themselves. In this study, we assessed the effect of ecosystem engineering on density-dependent feedbacks for midges in Lake Mývatn, Iceland. The midge larvae reside in the sediment and build silk tubes that provide a substrate for algal growth, thereby elevating benthic primary production. Benthic algae are in turn the primary food source for the midge larvae, setting the stage for the effects of engineering to feed back to the midges themselves. Using a field mesocosm experiment manipulating larval midge densities, we found a generally positive but nonlinear relationship between density and benthic production. Furthermore, adult emergence increased with the primary production per midge larva. By combining these two relationships in a simple model, we found that the positive effect of midges on benthic production weakened negative density dependence at low to intermediate larval densities. However, this benefit disappeared at high densities when midge consumption of primary producers exceeded their positive effects on primary production through ecosystem engineering. Our results illustrate how ecosystem engineering can alter density-dependent feedbacks for engineer populations.

Mentha arvensis (Pudina): A Review Based upon its Medicinal Properties

Since the origin in life, plants have remained the primary source of food, shelter and various remedial approaches. Plants are being in use for treating various kind of diseases across the world. Mentha arvensis linn. is a medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. It is utilized as a household remedy, food seasoner and for many other industrial purposes. Mentha arvensis is traditionally used in patients with hypertension and ischemic heart disease. The plant species are well recognized for their folk medicinal uses, especially to treat cold, fever, digestive and cardiovascular disorders. The leaves of Mentha arvensis are recorded to possess potent therapeutic values. Leaves of plant also possess aromatic fragrance and are utilized as a flavoring agent. The leaves are utilized for the treatment of liver disease, spleen, asthma and jaundice. Various bioactive compounds isolated from this plant are terpenoids, alcohols, rosmarinic acids and phenolics. These bioactive compounds have many pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidant, antiulcer, immunomodulatory, antifertility and anti-tumor. These pharmacological activities of the Mentha arvensis plant are also mentioned in the literature of ayurveda, unani and other traditional system of medicine. The present review is summarizing the general description, phytochemical compounds, traditional view, modern view and pharmacological activities of the Mentha arvensis plant.

Toxocara Seroprevalence and Risk Factor Analysis in Four Communities of the Wiwa, an Indigenous Tribe in Colombia.

The life of the indigenous Wiwa tribe in northeast Colombia is characterized by lacking access to clean drinking water and sanitary installations. Furthermore, free-roaming domestic animals and use of yucca and/or manioc as a primary food source favor the transmission of soil-transmitted helminths, e.g., Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati, the roundworms of dogs and cats. Infection may result in the clinical picture of toxocarosis, one of the most common zoonotic helminthoses worldwide. To estimate the Toxocara seroprevalence in four different villages of the Wiwa community, serum samples from 483 inhabitants were analyzed for anti-Toxocara-antibodies. Overall, 79.3% (383/483) of analyzed samples were seropositive. Statistically significant differences were observed between the four villages, as well as age groups (adults > adolescents > children), while sex had no effect. The high seropositivity rate demonstrates the risk of zoonotic roundworm infections and potential clinical disease in vulnerable indigenous inhabitants.

Composition of the zooplankton community associated with mesophotic corals in “Corales de Profundidad” National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) are located between 30 and 150 m deep and shelter unique communities. However, they have been poorly studied due to the high cost of the available sampling technologies. Zooplankton are key organisms for the maintenance of the coral colonies as their primary food source because the zooxanthellae in these habitats have a low photosynthetic rate due to the low light incidence. The purpose of this work was to characterize the zooplankton community associated with MCEs. We took 15 samples (three samples per station) by filtering 24 L of seawater (45 µm mesh size) in five stations at Bajo Fríjol with a device designed to collect zooplankton right just above the reef substrate. We determined the taxonomic composition, density, and relative abundance, and we categorized the species according to their trophic level. Crustaceans (especially nauplii and copepods), tintinnids, and foraminifers were the most abundant while tintinnids and radiolarians had the higher species richness. Herbivores dominated in both composition and abundance as usually happens in other pelagic communities. We present here the first reports of planktonic radiolarians and tintinnids from oceanic zones and MCEs in the Colombian Caribbean and the first global list of zooplankton species associated with MCEs.