The Dietary Importance of Kelp-Derived Detritus to Pelagic and Benthic Consumers along the West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada
Open Access
- 1 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Scientific Research Publishing, Inc. in Open Journal of Marine Science
- Vol. 11 (04), 187-213
- https://doi.org/10.4236/ojms.2021.114012
Abstract
Stable isotope analysis was used to determine the relative dietary importance of kelp-derived detritus to plankton and benthic organisms along a gradient of kelp abundance driven by recovering sea otter populations along the west coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI), Canada. The study used region-specific kelp isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) and season-specific phytoplankton isotope values to model dietary contributions of kelp-derived detritus (KDD). In general, KDD contributions were moderate to high in most plankton size fractions during the summer and decreased during the winter, particularly in the kelp sparse region. Hypothesized regional and spatial (distance from the coast) differences in kelp detritus contributions to zooplankton were not evident. Modeled estimates of the KDD contribution to benthic invertebrates were high (>40%) and independent of the organism size, among regions and between seasons, with the exception of Astraea gibberosa in the kelp abundant region. Local oceanography, natural kelp isotope signature variation, and significant overlap between kelps’ and blooming phytoplankton isotope values led to a large uncertainty in the assessed KDD contributions in benthic organisms. These results highlighted the importance of the KDD as a widespread and stable year-round food source in coastal kelp populated regions.Keywords
This publication has 75 references indexed in Scilit:
- Stability, resilience, and phase shifts in rocky subtidal communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island, CanadaEcological Monographs, 2011
- Effects of sample preparation on stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in marine invertebrates: implications for food web studies using stable isotopesOecologia, 2008
- Food limitation leads to behavioral diversification and dietary specialization in sea ottersProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008
- Biogeographic and nearshore–offshore trends in isotope ratios of intertidal mussels and their food sources around the coast of southern AfricaMarine Ecology Progress Series, 2006
- Interannual variability in nitrate supply to surface waters of the Northeast Pacific OceanMarine Ecology Progress Series, 1998
- Sedimentary nitrogen isotopic ratio as a recorder for surface ocean nitrate utilizationGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles, 1994
- Distribution of Nitzschia pungens in Coastal Waters of British ColumbiaCanadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1991
- Seaweeds: Their Productivity and Strategy for GrowthScience, 1973
- THE SEA OTTER IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEANNorth American Fauna, 1969
- A RAPID METHOD OF TOTAL LIPID EXTRACTION AND PURIFICATIONCanadian Journal of Biochemistry and Physiology, 1959