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Zooplankton Feeding Ecology: Contents of Fecal Pellets of the Copepod Anomalocera ornata from Continental Shelf and Slope Waters of the Gulf of Mexico
Author(s) -
Turner Jefferson T.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1985.tb00138.x
Subject(s) - copepod , zooplankton , phytoplankton , pellets , continental shelf , biology , ecology , crustacean , oceanography , environmental science , fishery , geology , nutrient
. The diet of the copepod Anomalocera ornata was examined by comparing contents of fecal pellets produced on natural diets with assemblages of available phytoplankton. Samples were collected in continental shelf and slope waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. A wide size and taxonomic array of phytoplankters was ingested, and remains of phytoplankton taxa in fecal pellets reflected the composition of phytoplankton assemblages in the water. Absence of crustacean remains in fecal pellets suggests that A. ornata feeds primarily as an opportunistic grazer.