Abstract
Deposit-feeders can respond to seasonal fluctuations in food concentration both functionally (e.g. by adjusting feeding rates) and physiologically (e.g. by changing the concentration of bacteriolytic agents in gut fluids). Laboratory feeding experiments were carried out (11 to 21 July 1997) with the arenicolid polychaete worm Abarenicola pacifica (Healy and Wells). Objectives were to test for separate and interactive effects of sediment food concentration and temperature (6, 11, and 16 °C) on deposit-feeder functional (feeding rates) and physiological (bacteriolytic activity of gut fluids) responses. Food concentration was varied experimentally using sieved (1 mm) natural sediments (Md ø = 2.00; 0.6% organic) mixed with combusted (500 °C, 8 h) sediments for final concentrations of 25, 50, and 100% natural sediment. Sediment food quality was measured as: (1) bioavailable amino acids (EHAA), (2) chlorophyll a (chl a), and (3) bacterial abundance. Feeding rates were inferred from egestion rates (ER, g h-1) and analyzed with respect to worm size. Bacteriolytic activity of midgut fluids was assayed turbidimetrically against two bacterial isolates, after worms had fed on experimental sediments for 15 d. Temperature and food concentration both significantly affected feeding rates, with maxima occurring at 50 and 100% natural sediment mixtures, and at high (16 °C) temperature. ER was positively, but not significantly correlated with EHAA and chl a; a positive, significant correlation was detected between ER and sediment bacterial abundance. Overall, functional responses agreed with earlier compensatory intake models for deposit-feeders. However, the size and direction of these responses was temperature-sensitive, suggesting that these models need to be adjusted for changes in absorption rates. No effects of ambient temperature or food concentration on bacteriolytic rates were observed, possibly due to compensatory mechanisms or the presence of multiple bacteriolytic agents in gut fluids.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1019-1027 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Marine Biology |
| Volume | 136 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2000 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements We thank C. Czeilsa, L. Flinn, B. Hentschel, L. Iocco, J. Millard, R. Terwilliger, and S. Wilde for field and laboratory assistance. J. Fauth, A. McCallum, and L. Zimmerman provided statistical advice. Additional facilities and equipment were furnished graciously by the NOS and MRRI laboratories of Charleston, South Carolina, as well as by G. DiTullio. Comments by B. Hentschel, J. Shimeta, G. Taghon, and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved earlier drafts of the manuscript. Funding was provided by NSF Grant OCE95-04505 (to C. Plante). This is Contribution No. 162 of the Grice Marine Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina.