Feeding habits of mesopelagic copepods in Sagami Bay: Insights from integrative analysis

We investigated the feeding habits of mesopelagic copepods in Sagami Bay during a spring bloom, focusing on omnivorous copepods of the families Aetideidae, Metridinidae, Scolecitrichidae, and Spinocalanidae by integrative application of stable-isotope (SI) analysis, microscopic observation of gut contents, elemental analysis of gut contents and sinking particles with an electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA), and morphological analysis of mouthparts. The SI ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of most mesopelagic species that initially were assumed to feed mainly on marine snow (sinking particles) were allocated within the SI plots that were assumed for the consumers of particulate organic matter from the epipelagic zone. Microscopy showed different compositions of gut contents among the copepods, most of which ingested marine snow containing incompletely degraded phytoplankton and cyanobacteria. According to the EPMA analysis, percentages of terrigenous mineral particles in marine snow were significantly higher than those in most of the copepod guts, suggesting selective ingestion of sinking particles by these copepods. Morphological analysis showed that mouthparts of most of the copepods were not suitable for fine-particle feeding. These mesopelagic copepods were distributed mostly below 50 m, where Chl-a was essentially depleted. These observations suggest feeding specialization among mesopelagic omnivorous copepods, as well as their selective ingestion of fresher particles and/or parts among diverse fractions of marine snow.

► Feeding habits of mesopelagic copepods were investigated using multiple methods.
► Elemental compositions of the gut contents of mesopelagic copepods and marine snow were analyzed using EPMA.
► Feeding habits of mesopelagic copepods previously considered as omnivore/detritivores differed among species.
► The fresher fraction of marine snow is an important food source for mesopelagic copepods during the spring bloom.