Dietary plasticity in small Arctic copepods as revealed with prey metabarcoding

Author:

Flo Snorre123ORCID,Svensen Camilla12ORCID,Præbel Kim45,Bluhm Bodil Annikki12,Vader Anna3

Affiliation:

1. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology , Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, , Framstredet 39, 9019 Tromsø, Norway

2. UiT The Arctic University of Norway , Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, , Framstredet 39, 9019 Tromsø, Norway

3. Department of Arctic Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard , PO Box 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

4. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences , PO Box 400 Vestad, 2418 Elverum, Norway

5. Norwegian College of Fishery Science , UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Muninbakken 21, 9037 Tromsø, Norway

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Small copepods (<2 mm) compose an important constituent of the Arctic marine food web, but their trophic interactions remain largely unexplored, partly due to methodological limitations. Methods We here characterize the prey of the abundant cyclopoid Oithona similis, harpacticoid Microsetella norvegica and calanoid Microcalanus spp. from the Arctic Barents Sea and Nansen Basin during four seasons using brute force prey metabarcoding of the 18S rRNA gene. Key findings Chaetognaths were unexpectedly the most consistently identified taxa and composed 47% of all prey reads. Some taxa were seasonally important, including diatoms in April–May (43%), dinoflagellates in December (15%) and March (17%), and urochordates in August (20%). Compositional differences among species were also discernible, and the M. norvegica diet was significantly different from both O. similis and Microcalanus spp. The diets varied nevertheless more with season than species despite the inherent trophic traits that distinguish the ambush-predator O. similis, chemosensoric particle-chaser M. norvegica and current-feeding Microcalanus spp. Conclusions Our results thus indicate that dietary plasticity is common in small Arctic copepods, regardless of their behaviors or strategies for finding sustenance. We further hypothesize that such plasticity is an important adaptation in systems where prey availability is highly seasonal.

Funder

Research Council of Norway

Nansen Legacy

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

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