Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2020, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (3): 57-65.doi: 10.11978/2019092CSTR: 32234.14.2019092

• Marine Biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In situ feeding differences between adults and juveniles of chaetognath (Flaccisagitta enflata) in Sanya Bay

Lingli WANG1,2,3, Simin HU1,3(), Minglan GUO1,3, Tao LI1,3,4, Youjun WANG1,2, Hui HUANG1,3,4, Sheng LIU1,3()   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510301, China
    4. Tropical Marine Biological Research Statin in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
  • Received:2019-09-20 Revised:2019-12-06 Online:2020-05-10 Published:2020-05-19
  • Contact: Simin HU,Sheng LIU E-mail:husimin@scsio.ac.cn;shliu@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA13020100);National Key Research and Development Project of China(2016YFC0502800);National Key Research and Development Project of China(2017YFC0506302);Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China(2017B0303014052);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41806188);Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences(ISEE2018PY01)

Abstract:

Chaetognatha is often the most abundant carnivorous zooplankton, and a vital food source for pelagic fish in marine ecosystem. However, their survival strategy of maintaining population structure in tropical coastal waters remains unclear. In this study, molecular method was applied to compare the field diet of juveniles and adults of dominant chaetognath species Flaccisagitta enflata in Sanya Bay. We discuss the nutritional strategies of chaetognaths maintaining substantial population structure from the perspective of resource utilization. The results show that there were 21 and 19 species fed by juveniles and adults, respectively. Copepods, small jellyfish, diatoms, and polychaets were common food groups of both juveniles and adults. Food preferences differed significantly between the juveniles and adults. Small jellyfish made up 59% of the whole diet composition in adults, while copepods became the most abundant food items (60%) in juveniles. The trophic niche of juveniles (5.16) was higher than that of adults (2.89), and trophic overlap between them was low (0.21), suggesting that chaetognaths have obvious dietary shifts during different growth stages. These results reveal that even though adults and juveniles coexist in the same region with large numbers, they can reduce food competition by feeding differentiation. This feeding strategy is of great significance for maxillary species to ensure juvenile survival and maintain substantial population structure.

Key words: chaetognaths, adults and juveniles, feeding differentiation, nutrition strategy, population structure