RELATIVELY NEGATIVE δ13C RATIOS OF MESOZOOPLANKTON IN THE SUNDAYS RIVER ESTUARY, COMMENTS ON POTENTIAL CARBON SOURCES

Abstract

Summary Mesozooplankton, submergent and fringing macrophytes and particles suspended in the water column in the Sundays River estuary South Africa were analyzed for δ13C isotope ratios. Highly negative values (−28.3‰ to −32.0‰) for the mesozooplankton species suggest the possibility of phytoplankton rather than detritus derived from macrophytes as carbon source.