JPR Advance Access originally published online on February 26, 2004
Journal of Plankton Research 2004 26(4):495-500; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbh048
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Journal of Plankton Research Vol. 26 No. 4 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved
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15N signatures of marine mesozooplankton and seston size fractions in Kiel Fjord, Baltic Sea
Leibniz-Institut Für Meereswissenschaften, Experimental Ecology, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany
* Corresponding Author: fsommer{at}ifm-geomar.de
The
15N of marine mesozooplankton species was measured on four occasions. Significant differences were found between copepods and meroplanktonic larvae, yet not between holoplanktonic species. On average, mesozooplankton was enriched by 3.4 ± 0.9
relative to selected seston size fractions. Despite suggesting small differences (
0.5 to 1
) in the
15N of different phytoplankton taxa on one occasion, the size fractionation procedure generally proved inadequate in separating major taxonomic groups composing seston. This circumstance, and phase-shifts in the transmission of rapid changes (>2
) in seston
15N to mesozooplankton complicate the calculation of mesozooplankton trophic levels.