Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Temporal dynamics in the diet of two marine polychaetes as inferred from fatty acid biomarkers
Braeckman, U.; Provoost, P.; Sabbe, K.; Soetaert, K.; Middelburg, J.J.; Vincx, M.; Vanaverbeke, J. (2012). Temporal dynamics in the diet of two marine polychaetes as inferred from fatty acid biomarkers. J. Sea Res. 68: 6-19. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2011.11.003
In: Journal of Sea Research. Elsevier/Netherlands Institute for Sea Research: Amsterdam; Den Burg. ISSN 1385-1101; e-ISSN 1873-1414, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Algal blooms
    Aquatic communities > Plankton > Phytoplankton
    Biomarkers
    Blooms
    Chemical compounds > Organic compounds > Lipids
    Macrobenthos
    Lanice conchilega (Pallas, 1766) [WoRMS]; Nephtys hombergii Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Macrobenthos; Phytoplankton Bloom; Lipid Biomarker; Lanice conchilega;Nephtys hombergii

Authors  Top 
  • Middelburg, J.J., more
  • Vincx, M., more
  • Vanaverbeke, J., more

Abstract
    We investigated the temporal variation of pelagic and benthic food sources in the diet of two marine polychaetes: a macrobenthic omnivore (Nephtys hombergii) and a suspension-deposit feeder (Lanice conchilega) by means of fatty acid (FA) biomarkers and compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA). FA biomarkers in the suspended particulate matter roughly mirrored phytoplankton dynamics in the water column, consisting of a small diatom dominance early spring, succeeded by a mass Phaeocystis peak followed by a mixed diatom-dinoflagellate bloom. Deposition and subsequent bacterial degradation of the phytoplankton bloom were also reflected in sediment FA biomarkers. The main distinction in FA biomarker concentration within macrobenthic tissue was observed at the species level (48% of variation), the diet of L. conchilega consisting of bacteria and diatoms and that of N. hombergii also of diatoms, but including more dinoflagellates and invertebrates. Temporal variation explained 17%: the two species retained more bacterial and Phaeocystis markers before the bloom, while they accumulated more poly-unsaturated FA after the bloom. CSIA revealed increased accumulation or biosynthesis of poly-unsaturated FA from the suspended matter in L. conchilega upon bloom deposition, which is probably related to energy storage for gametogenesis. In contrast, bloom-dependent accumulation or biosynthesis of FA was not detected in N. hombergii, probably because of its reliance on invertebrate prey.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors