• Journals
  • Discipline
  • Indexed
  • Institutions
  • About
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
View Item 
  •   Home
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
  • Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research
  • View Item
  •   Home
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
  • Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research
  • View Item

Scaling copepod grazing in a coastal upwelling system: the importance of community size structure for phytoplankton C flux

Author
Valdés,Valentina

Escribano,Rubén

Vergara,Odette

Full text
https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-560X2017000100005
Abstract
Crustacean zooplankton, often dominated by copepods and euphausiids, are the major phytoplankton grazers in coastal upwelling systems. It has been argued that zooplankton grazing is a size-dependent process, such that models incorporating the size structure of zooplankton are appropriate for describing herbivore C-transfer. Here, based on the size-spectrum theory and on gut-fluorescence experiments, conducted with numerically dominant copepods from two upwelling sites off the Chilean coast, we show that C-specific ingestion rates of copepods are size-dependent. We further show that the size structure of the copepod community, synthesized by the slope of the normalized size spectrum, determines the impact of grazing on phytoplankton. C-specific ingestion rates, depending on species size, were in the range of 0.14-353.97 (ng C μg C-1 h-1). A modelled normalized biomass-spectra of a copepod community in the size range of 0.5 to 74.0 μg C showed that C-specific grazing impact can increase by a factor of 4 when small-sized species (0.1-10 μg C ind-1), such as Paracalanus cf. indicus, Acartia tonsa, Oncaea spp. and Corycaeus spp., dominate the community in terms of biomass. By contrast, when larger-sized copepods dominate (10-100 μg C ind-1), such as Calanus chilensis, Calanoidespatagoniensis and Rhyncalanus nasutus, total zooplankton biomass may increase, but with a sharp decrease in the efficiency of C transfer via herbivores. Our findings indicate that processes affecting the size structure of zooplankton communities can substantially impact the phytoplankton C flux through the pelagic food web, thus controlling production of higher trophic levels.
Metadata
Show full item record
Discipline
Artes, Arquitectura y UrbanismoCiencias Agrarias, Forestales y VeterinariasCiencias Exactas y NaturalesCiencias SocialesDerechoEconomía y AdministraciónFilosofía y HumanidadesIngenieríaMedicinaMultidisciplinarias
Institutions
Universidad de ChileUniversidad Católica de ChileUniversidad de Santiago de ChileUniversidad de ConcepciónUniversidad Austral de ChileUniversidad Católica de ValparaísoUniversidad del Bio BioUniversidad de ValparaísoUniversidad Católica del Nortemore

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

LoginRegister
Dirección de Servicios de Información y Bibliotecas (SISIB) - Universidad de Chile
© 2019 Dspace - Modificado por SISIB