Skip to main content
Log in

Ingestion of live filamentous diatoms by the Great Lakes amphipod, Diporeia sp.: a case study of the limited value of gut contents analysis

  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Individuals of the Great Lakes amphipod, Diporeia sp. (formerly named Pontoporeia hoyi) were collected from a 45-m deep station in southeastern Lake Michigan and isolated in small laboratory feeding vessels at 4 °C, after the animals had voided their guts over a 24-hour period. Over a 20-day period, following introduction of a single ration of live cells of the filamentous diatom, Melosira varians, 9 of 10 animals had ingested this material, and 7 of these 9 individuals had deposited fecal pellets. Subsequent examination of gut contents and fecal pellets showed that although animals had ingested whole algal cells/filaments, little of the material in gut contents or fecal pellets bore any identifiable structural similarity to cells/filaments prior to ingestion. The results suggest that earlier studies of pontoporeiid gut contents may seriously underestimate the importance of algal components in the amphipod's diet and imply that Diporeia sp. growth and production may be more closely linked to primary production than previously thought.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ankar, S., 1977. The soft bottom ecosystem of the northern Baltic proper with special reference to the macrofauna. Contrib. Asko Lab., Univ. Stockholm 19: 1–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnard, J. L., 1969. The families and genera of marine gammaridean amphipods. U.S. National Museum Bull. 271, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 535 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bousfield, E. L., 1973. Gammaridean Amphipoda of New England. Cornell Univ. Press., Ithaca N.Y., 312 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bousfield, E. L., 1989. Revised morphological relationships within the amphipod genera Pontoporeia and Gammaracanthus and the ‘glacial relict’ significance of their postglacial distributions. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 46: 1714–1725.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D. J. & C. L. Schelske, 1989. Processes controlling the benthic regeneration and sedimentary accumulation of biogenic silica in Lake Michigan. Arch. Hydrobiol. 116: 23–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dermott, R. M. & K. Corning, 1988. Seasonal ingestion rates of Pontoporeia hoyi (Amphipoda) in Lake Ontario. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 45: 1886–1895.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmgren, R., S. Ankar, B. Marteleur & G. Ejdung, 1986. Adult interference with postlarvae in soft sediments: the Pontoporeia-Macoma example. Ecology 67: 827–836.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M. S., M. A. Quigley & J. A. Wojcik, 1990. Comparative ecology of Pontoporeia hoyi populations in southern Lake Michigan: the profundal region versus the slope and shelf regions. J. Great Lakes Res. 16: 27–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahnenstiel, G. L. & D. Scavia, 1987. Dynamics of Lake Michigan phytoplankton: primary production and growth. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 44: 499–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, W. S., T. F. Nalepa, W. A. Frez, E. A. Cichocki & P. F. Landrum, 1985. Seasonal patterns in lipid content of Lake Michigan macroinvertebrates. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 42: 1827–1832.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, W. S., M. A. Quigley, G. L. Fahnenstiel, D. Scavia & W. A. Frez, 1990. Pontoporeia hoyi, an apparent direct trophic link between spring diatoms and fish in Lake Michigan. In Structural and Functional Properties of Lakes. (M. Tilzer, Ed.), Springer Verlag, Heidelberg. pp. 632–644.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gauvin, J. M., W. S. Gardner & M. A. Quigley, 1989. Effects of food removal on nutrient release and lipid content of Lake Michigan Pontoporeia hoyi. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 46: 1125–1130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, B. T., 1970. The utilization of benthic microflora by Hyalella azteca (Amphipoda). J. anim. Ecol. 39: 427–437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C. & R. Elmgren, 1987. Vertical distribution in the sediment in the co-occurring benthic amphipods Pontoporeia affinis and P. femorata. Oikos 49: 221–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland, R. E. & A. M. Beeton, 1972. Significance to eutrophication differences in nutrients and diatoms in Lake Michigan. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17: 88–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. G. & R. O. Brinkhurst, 1971. Production of benthic macroinvertebrates of the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 28: 1699–1717.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. K., 1987. The life history, production and food habits of Pontoporeia affinis Lindstrom (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in mesotrophic Lake Erken. Hydrobiologia 144: 277–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubner, J. F., 1979. Population dynamics and production of the relict amphipod Pontoporeia hoyi at several Lake Michigan stations. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI. 98 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, G. & R. Elmgren, 1989. Feeding depths and organic absorption for the deposit-feeding benthic amphipods Pontoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata. Limnol. Oceanogr. 34: 982–991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzolf, G. R., 1965. Substrate relations of the burrowing amphipod Pontoporeia afinis in Lake Michigan. Ecology 46: 579–592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. W., 1977. The importance of algae in the diet of Gammarus lacustris and Pontoporeia affinis. Can. J. Zool. 55: 637–641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nalepa, T. F. & M. A. Quigley, 1987. Distribution of photosynthetic pigments in nearshore sediments of Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 13: 37–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nalepa, T. F., M. A. Quigley, K. Childs, J. M. Gauvin, T. S. Heatlie, M. Parker & L. Vanover, 1985. The macrobenthos of southern Lake Michigan. NOAA Data Report, ERL GLERL-28, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nalepa, T. F. & A. Robertson, 1981. Vertical distribution of the zoobenthos in southeastern Lake Michigan with evidence of seasonal variation. Freshwat. Biol. 11: 87–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parrish, C. C., 1986. Dissolved and particulate lipid clases in the aquatic environment. Ph.D. Thesis, Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, N.S. 259 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, R. H., 1984. Methods for the study of feeding, filtering and assimilation by zooplankton. In Downing, J. A. & F. H. Rigler, A Manual on Methods for the Assessment of Secondary Productivity in Fresh Waters. I.B.P. Handbook No. 17, Blackwell Sci. Pubs. pp. 336–412.

  • Quigley, M. A., 1988. Gut fullness of the deposit-feeding amphipod Pontoporeia hoyi in southeastern Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 14: 178–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quigley, M. A., J. F. Cavaletto & W. S. Gardner 1989. Lipid composition related to size and maturity of the amphipod P. hoyi. J. Great Lakes Res. 15: 601–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quigley, M. A. & J. A. Robbins, 1984. Silica regeneration processes in nearshore southern Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 10: 383–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, E. H., 1967. Visceral anatomy of Gammarus lacustris lacustris Sars (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Am. Midl. Nat. 78: 1–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, E. H. & P. M. Scherrey, 1983. Digestive anatomy of Hyalella azteca (Crustacea: Amphipoda). J. Morph. 175: 91–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanderploeg, H. A., G. Paffenhoffer & J. R. Liebig, 1988. Diaptomus vs. net phytoplankton: Effects of algal size and morphology on selectivity of a behaviorally flexible, omnivorous copepod. Bull. mar. Sci. 43: 377–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, L., 1980. Food of alewives, yellow perch, spottail shiners, trout-perch and slimy and fourhorn sculpin in southeastern Lake Michigan. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv. Tech. Pap. 98.

  • Welton, J. S., M. Ladle, J. A. B. Bass & I. R. John, 1983. Estimation of gut throughput time in Gammarus pulex under laboratory and field conditions with a note on the feeding of young in the brood pouch. Oikos 41: 133–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada, S. S. & C. F. D'Elia, 1984. Silicic acid regeneration from estuarine sediment cores. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 18: 113–118.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Quigley, M.A., Vanderploeg, H.A. Ingestion of live filamentous diatoms by the Great Lakes amphipod, Diporeia sp.: a case study of the limited value of gut contents analysis. Hydrobiologia 223, 141–148 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00047635

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00047635

Key words

Navigation