Behavioral adaptations of cruise-feeding copepods to harmful algal blooms: Insights from the East China Sea

IF 3 3区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Marine environmental research Pub Date : 2025-02-07 DOI:10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107005

Zhongheng Xu , Huihuang Jiang , Shouhai Liu , Jiawen Ying , Yining Jiang , Huimin Jiang , Jiayi Xu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become a global environmental concern, significantly impacting marine life and the fishing industry. However, the tolerance and adaptive mechanisms of zooplankton to HABs remain poorly understood. This study examines the behavioral and feeding responses of the cruise-feeding copepod Centropages dorsispinatus to summer HABs in the East China Sea (ECS), focusing on interactions with the blooming diatom (Skeletonema costatum) and dinoflagellates (Prorocentrum donghaiense, Karenia mikimotoi, and Alexandrium tamarense). Using short-term incubations and high-speed filming, we compared the ingestion rates and behaviors of C. dorsispinatus fed mono-algal diets and mixed diets containing neutral distraction particles (polystyrene beads). The results revealed that C. dorsispinatus obtained limited carbon from each algal diet (1.02–7.02 μg C cop.⁻¹ day⁻¹). The presence of distraction particles reduced carbon intake from S. costatum, P. donghaiense, and A. tamarense, but significantly increased intake from the healthy control, Platymonas helgolandica. Behavioral responses varied among algal diets: compared to P. helgolandica, C. dorsispinatus exhibited more frequent but shorter swims in S. costatum diets and less frequent swims in K. mikimotoi, and A. tamarense diets. These algal-specific responses were generally mitigated when copepods simultaneously exposed to the neutral distraction particles. Copepods achieved higher carbon intake with lower mechanical energy expenditure when grazing on large dinoflagellates compared to diatoms. We suggest that cruise-feeding copepods can actively adjust their behavior to adapt to varying food conditions, including the density, morphologic characteristics, and toxicity of algae. It allows copepods to better survive and forage in dinoflagellate HABs than in diatom HABs. However, the low ingestion rates observed limit the potential for cruise-feeding copepods to exert top-down control on HABs.

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来源期刊

Marine environmental research 环境科学-毒理学

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

3.00%

发文量

217

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Marine Environmental Research publishes original research papers on chemical, physical, and biological interactions in the oceans and coastal waters. The journal serves as a forum for new information on biology, chemistry, and toxicology and syntheses that advance understanding of marine environmental processes. Submission of multidisciplinary studies is encouraged. Studies that utilize experimental approaches to clarify the roles of anthropogenic and natural causes of changes in marine ecosystems are especially welcome, as are those studies that represent new developments of a theoretical or conceptual aspect of marine science. All papers published in this journal are reviewed by qualified peers prior to acceptance and publication. Examples of topics considered to be appropriate for the journal include, but are not limited to, the following: – The extent, persistence, and consequences of change and the recovery from such change in natural marine systems – The biochemical, physiological, and ecological consequences of contaminants to marine organisms and ecosystems – The biogeochemistry of naturally occurring and anthropogenic substances – Models that describe and predict the above processes – Monitoring studies, to the extent that their results provide new information on functional processes – Methodological papers describing improved quantitative techniques for the marine sciences.