Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2010
Journal
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Volume
401
First Page
195
Last Page
209
Abstract
As filter-feeding planktivores, Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus have the potential to influence water quality through ingestion of phytoplankton and assimilation of resultant nutrients. To evaluate the influence of young-of-the-year (YOY) and age-1+ menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, rates of phytoplankton (chl a) ingestion and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) excretion were measured experimentally across varying phytoplankton concentrations. Ingestion rates of YOY menhaden increased (0.03 to 185 mu g chl a fish(-1) min(-1)) in response to increasing phytoplankton concentration (4.98 to 198.22 mu g chl a l(-1)), while age-1+ menhaden exhibited virtually no ingestion of the phytoplankton offered. For YOY menhaden, a type-III functional response model best described the relationship between ingestion rate and phytoplankton concentration. Excretion rates of TDN by YOY menhaden increased (0.93 to 3.92 mu gN fish(-1) min(-1)) across phytoplankton concentration, and the relationship was best described by an asymptotic exponential model. By contrast, excretion rates were relatively constant for age-1+ menhaden. The YOY ingestion and excretion rate models were combined and rates of net removal of nitrogen across phytoplankton concentrations ranged from -1.73 to 29.85 and -1.73 to 131.58 mu gN fish(-1) min(-1) when the ratio of carbon-to-chlorophyll was 50 and 200, respectively. Results suggest that YOY menhaden focus their grazing on patches of elevated phytoplankton abundance and/or supplement their diet with other sources (e.g. zooplankton and detritus) to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. Population-level estimates of net nitrogen removal imply that menhaden play a minimal role regarding water quality in Chesapeake Bay.
DOI
10.3354/meps08389
Keywords
Clupeidae; Filtration; Filter feeding; Functional response; Excretion; Nutrients; Water quality; Eutrophication
Recommended Citation
Lynch, Patrick D.; Brush, Mark J.; Condon, Elizabeth D.; and Latour, Robert J., Net removal of nitrogen through ingestion of phytoplankton by Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus in Chesapeake Bay (2010). MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 401, 195-209.
10.3354/meps08389
