Diet of Mysis relicta in Lake Ontario as revealed by stable isotope and gut content analysis

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Abstract

Stable isotope analysis of the potential prey and predator can be combined with gut content analysis to quantify the diet. This dietary knowledge allows the quantitative assessment of the role of key species in energy and contaminant transfer, their impact on prey communities, and their susceptibility to perturbation. The diet of Mysis relicta was examined in Lake Ontario in spring, summer, and autumn using both techniques. Mysids fed on the bottom during the day and in the pelagia and on the bottom at night. A trophic fractionation of 2.2‰ N between mysids and their prey provided the best correspondence between the observed stable isotope signature of mysids and that estimated from their diet. Tissue turnover rate of δ 13 C was slow compared with that of δ 15 N. Diatoms formed 50% of the assimilated diet in May. In September, 25% of large mysids feeding on the bottom contained amphipod parts and 20% contained phytoplankton. The remainder of the diet consisted of zooplankton and rotifers. The contribution of amphipods and phytoplankton could not be quantified. Revised daily consumption estimates, based on this new diet information and clearance rate estimates of consumption, gave daily consumption estimates similar to those estimated from previous bioenergetic modelling.

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