Study of selective feeding in the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris by HPLC pigment analysis

Food selection by the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris was studied in the field by HPLC analysis of phytoplankton marker pigments and in the laboratory by microscopic measurement of cell removal. Comparison between pigment composition in natural phytoplankton and in P. avirostris showed that P. avirostris preferred diatoms, cryptophytes and chlorophytes, and ignored prymnesiophytes and dinoflagellates. Peridinin, the marker pigment for dinoflagellates was found in P. avirostris only when the dinoflagellate populations were dominated by Prorocentrum. Pigment degradation rates ranged from 13.73% for alloxanthin to 36.62% for chlorophyll a. Clearance rates measured in the laboratory provided further evidence of strong preference for diatoms and cryptophytes, and avoidance of dinoflagellates. Microscopic counts suggested that P. avirostris was feeding on prymnesiophytes, although ingestion of prymnesiophytes could not be confirmed by pigment analysis.