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Feeding preferences of estuarine mysids Neomysis integer and Rhopalophthalmus tartessicus in a temperate estuary (Guadalquivir Estuary, SW Spain)
Vilas, C.; Drake, P.; Fockedey, N. (2008). Feeding preferences of estuarine mysids Neomysis integer and Rhopalophthalmus tartessicus in a temperate estuary (Guadalquivir Estuary, SW Spain). Est., Coast. and Shelf Sci. 77(3): 345-356. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2007.09.025
In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Academic Press: London; New York. ISSN 0272-7714; e-ISSN 1096-0015
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open Marine Archive 134359 [ download pdf ]
Keywords
    Climatic zones > Temperate zones
    Food preferences
    Water bodies > Coastal waters > Coastal landforms > Coastal inlets > Estuaries
    Mesopodopsis slabberi (Van Beneden, 1861) [WoRMS]; Mysida [WoRMS]; Neomysis integer (Leach, 1814) [WoRMS]; Neomysis integer (Leach, 1814) [WoRMS]; Rhopalophthalmus tartessicus Vilas-Fernandez, Drake & Sorbe, 2008 [WoRMS]
    MED, Spain, Guadalquivir estuary [Marine Regions]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    feeding; mysid; estuaries; Neomysis integer; Rhopalophthalmus tartessicus; Guadalquivir; inter-specific competition
Authors  Top 
  • Vilas, C.
  • Drake, P.
  • Fockedey, N.
Abstract
    Mysid shrimps are an important component of estuarine food webs because they play a key role in energy transfer as intermediate prey. We investigated the seasonal, tidal and depth specific variation in the diet of the estuarine mysids Neomysis integer and Rhopalophthalmus tartessicus and explored its implications for the planktonic community structure of a temperate estuary (Guadalquivir Estuary, SW Spain). Neomysis integer is an opportunistic omnivore feeding mainly on mesozooplankton and on members of the detrital-microbial loop, shifting prey seasonally according to availability. In contrast, R. tartessicus showed a more carnivorous diet and shifted its target prey during seasons of low resource availability. Despite statistically significant differences in diet composition, both species shared prey of similar size, particularly juvenile Mesopodopsis slabberi, the most abundant mysid species in this estuary, and copepods. Although these similarities imply inter-specific resource competition, their co-existence is achieved by niche partitioning and spatial segregation: the higher osmoregulatory capacity and foraging plasticity of N. integer confers a broader niche breadth for this species allowing N. integer to inhabit the more stressful oligohaline region of the estuary where R. tartessicus cannot survive. We propose that this mechanism relaxes the potential for competition between N. integer and R. tartessicus.
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