18S rRNA gene sequences of leptocephalus gut contents, particulate organic matter, and biological oceanographic conditions in the western North Pacific
Open Access
- 9 March 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Scientific Reports
- Vol. 11 (1), 1-16
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84532-y
Abstract
Eel larvae apparently feed on marine snow, but many aspects of their feeding ecology remain unknown. The eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene sequence compositions in the gut contents of four taxa of anguilliform eel larvae were compared with the sequence compositions of vertically sampled seawater particulate organic matter (POM) in the oligotrophic western North Pacific Ocean. Both gut contents and POM were mainly composed of dinoflagellates as well as other phytoplankton (cryptophytes and diatoms) and zooplankton (ciliophoran and copepod) sequences. Gut contents also contained cryptophyte and ciliophoran genera and a few other taxa. Dinoflagellates (family Gymnodiniaceae) may be an important food source and these phytoplankton were predominant in gut contents and POM as evidenced by DNA analysis and phytoplankton cell counting. The compositions of the gut contents were not specific to the species of eel larvae or the different sampling areas, and they were most similar to POM at the chlorophyll maximum in the upper part of the thermocline (mean depth: 112 m). Our results are consistent with eel larvae feeding on marine snow at a low trophic level, and feeding may frequently occur in the chlorophyll maximum in the western North Pacific.This publication has 88 references indexed in Scilit:
- Reducing the Effects of PCR Amplification and Sequencing Artifacts on 16S rRNA-Based StudiesPLOS ONE, 2011
- UCHIME improves sensitivity and speed of chimera detectionBioinformatics, 2011
- Oceanic spawning ecology of freshwater eels in the western North PacificNature Communications, 2011
- Qualitative assessment of the diet of European eel larvae in the Sargasso Sea resolved by DNA barcodingBiology Letters, 2010
- Comparison of the multiple oligomeric structures observed for the Rvb1 and Rvb2 proteinsThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this special issue entitled 8th International Conference on AAA Proteins and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 2010
- BLAST+: architecture and applicationsBMC Bioinformatics, 2009
- Quantification of Diatom and Dinoflagellate Biomasses in Coastal Marine Seawater Samples by Real-Time PCRApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2008
- Seasonal, interannual and decadal variations in particulate matter concentrations and composition in the subtropical North Pacific OceanDeep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 2001
- Subsurface chlorophyll maximum in the tropical and subtropical western Pacific Ocean: Vertical profiles of phytoplankton biomass and its relationship with chlorophylla and particulate organic carbonMarine Biology, 1990
- An Ordination of the Upland Forest Communities of Southern WisconsinEcological Monographs, 1957