TY - JOUR

T1 - The strengths and weaknesses of Live Fluorescently Labelled Algae (LFLA) to estimate herbivory in protozooplankton and mixoplankton

AU - Ferreira, Guilherme Duarte

AU - Figueira, Joana

AU - Marques, Sónia Cotrim

AU - Hansen, Per Juel

AU - Calbet, Albert

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The Live Fluorescently Labelled Algae (LFLA) technique has been used numerous times to estimate microzooplankton herbivory. Yet, it is unknown how mixoplankton (i.e., single-cell organisms that can combine phototrophy and phagotrophy) affect the outcome of this technique. Hence, we conducted a broad-spectrum assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the LFLA technique, using several mixoplanktonic and protozooplanktonic grazers. Species from different taxonomic groups and different feeding mechanisms were tested in short-term experiments (ca. 5 h) in the laboratory, at different prey concentrations and during light and dark periods of the day. Overall, our findings suggest that the LFLA technique, due to its short-term nature, is an effective tracker of diel ingestion and digestion rates, and can detect new mixoplanktonic predators. We recommend that, irrespective of the prey concentration, incubations to measure grazing rates with this technique should generally be concluded within 1 h (adaptable to the environmental temperature). Nevertheless, our results also call for caution whenever using LFLA in the field: feeding mechanisms other than direct engulfment (like peduncle feeding) may provide severely biased ingestion rates. Furthermore, size and species selectivity are very hard to circumvent. To reduce the effects of selectivity, we propose the combined use of two distinctly coloured fluorochromes (i.e., distinct emission spectra). With this modification, one could either label different size ranges of prey or account for species-specific interactions in the food web.

AB - The Live Fluorescently Labelled Algae (LFLA) technique has been used numerous times to estimate microzooplankton herbivory. Yet, it is unknown how mixoplankton (i.e., single-cell organisms that can combine phototrophy and phagotrophy) affect the outcome of this technique. Hence, we conducted a broad-spectrum assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the LFLA technique, using several mixoplanktonic and protozooplanktonic grazers. Species from different taxonomic groups and different feeding mechanisms were tested in short-term experiments (ca. 5 h) in the laboratory, at different prey concentrations and during light and dark periods of the day. Overall, our findings suggest that the LFLA technique, due to its short-term nature, is an effective tracker of diel ingestion and digestion rates, and can detect new mixoplanktonic predators. We recommend that, irrespective of the prey concentration, incubations to measure grazing rates with this technique should generally be concluded within 1 h (adaptable to the environmental temperature). Nevertheless, our results also call for caution whenever using LFLA in the field: feeding mechanisms other than direct engulfment (like peduncle feeding) may provide severely biased ingestion rates. Furthermore, size and species selectivity are very hard to circumvent. To reduce the effects of selectivity, we propose the combined use of two distinctly coloured fluorochromes (i.e., distinct emission spectra). With this modification, one could either label different size ranges of prey or account for species-specific interactions in the food web.

KW - Diel feeding rhythms

KW - Digestion

KW - Grazing

KW - Live FLA

KW - Mixoplankton

KW - Mixotrophy

KW - Protist

U2 - 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105558

DO - 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105558

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34998128

AN - SCOPUS:85122242873

VL - 174

JO - Marine Environmental Research

JF - Marine Environmental Research

SN - 0141-1136

M1 - 105558

ER -