Document of dataset 1225

Dataset record

Type

Dataset

title in English

Zooplankton food sources in the Scheldt Estuary: estimating relative importance of algae and bacteria through isotope composition and fatty acid content

title in nl

Voedselbronnen van zooplankton in het Schelde estuarium: schatting van het relatieve belang van algen en bacteriën door analyse van stabiele isotopen en vetzuursamenstelling

Description in English

Mesozooplankton was determined up to family, genus or species level and analysed for 13C and fatty acid content. Suspended matter was analysed for polar lipid fatty acids (PLFA), 13C of PLFA and of bulk SPM. Water samples were analysed for 13C of dissolved inorganic and organic carbon. Group-specific PLFA were used to estimate isotope ratios of algal groups and of bacteria. Relative contributions of autochtonous and allochtonous organic carbon to the mesozooplankton biomass were estimated from the isotopic ratios. Total fatty acid content of mesozooplankton was also assessed to compare the results of fatty acid analysis with those of 13C analysis.

Abstract in English

Six stations along a salinity gradient of the Scheldt Estuary in Belgium and the Netherlands were sampled monthly during one year in 2005. Mesozooplankton, suspended matter (SPM) and water samples were collected from the water column.

Rights

Unrestricted

bibliographicCitation

Van den Meersche K., Soetaert K. 2005: Zooplankton food sources in the Scheldt Estuary: estimating relative importance of algae and bacteria through isotope composition and fatty acid content. Netherlands Institute of Ecology; Centre for Estuarine and Marine Ecology, Netherlands. Metadata available at http://mda.nioo.knaw.nl/imis.php?module=dataset&dasid=1225

Version

2005