Environmental Regulation of the Nitrogen Supply, Mean Trophic Position, and Trophic Enrichment of Mesozooplankton in the Mekong River Plume and Southern South China Sea

The mean trophic position (TP) of mesozooplankton largely determines how much mass and energy is available for higher trophic levels like fish. Unfortunately, the ratio of herbivores to carnivores in mesozooplankton is difficult to identify in field samples. Here, we investigated changes in the mean TP of mesozooplankton in a highly dynamic environment encompassing four distinct habitats in the southern South China Sea: the Mekong River plume, coastal upwelling region, shelf waters, and offshore oceanic waters. We used a set of variables derived from bulk and amino acid nitrogen stable isotopes from particulate organic matter and four mesozooplankton size fractions to identify changes in the nitrogen source and TP of mesozooplankton across these habitats. We found clear indications of a shift in N sources for biological production from nitrate in near‐coastal waters with shallow mixed layer depths toward an increase in diazotroph‐N inputs in oceanic waters with deep mixed layer depths where diazotrophs shaped the phytoplankton community. The N source shift was accompanied by a lengthening of the food chain (increase in the TP). This may provide further support for the connection between diazotrophy and the indirect routing of N through the marine food web. Our combined bulk and amino acid δ15N approach also allowed us to estimate the trophic enrichment (TE) of mesozooplankton across the entire regional ecosystem. When put in the context of literature values, a high TE of 5.1‰ suggested a link between ecosystem heterogeneity and the less efficient transfer of mass and energy across trophic levels.
Plain Language Summary: Zooplankton are one of the central pillars of the marine food web and form an important link between the production of organic matter by phytoplankton and biomass at higher trophic levels (e.g., fish). Of particular interest are mesozooplankton (0.2–20 mm in size), which encompass a diverse assemblage of animals utilizing a range of feeding strategies, including herbivory, omnivory, and carnivory. Since mass and energy are lost with each trophic step, their prevailing feeding strategy determines the availability of mass and energy to the upper food web. The exact relationship between carnivores and herbivores in mesozooplankton has so far only been studied with complex experiments or in homogenous environments. We have now resolved zooplankton feeding relationships in a highly dynamic marine environment. Specifically, we used stable nitrogen isotopes in amino acids and bulk organic matter in combination with a habitat‐delineating method for phytoplankton to directly determine the ratio of carnivores to herbivores in zooplankton from dynamic habitats in the South China Sea. The mass and energy transfer across trophic levels is less efficient in such variable marine environments compared to stable open ocean systems. These findings represent a big step toward understanding the dynamics of planktonic food webs in general.
Key Points: Trophic structure of mesozooplankton is regulated by similar environmental factors such as phytoplankton assemblages. Diazotrophy and nutrient availability correlated with enhanced mesozooplankton carnivory in a complex tropical marine ecosystem. Mass and energy transfer across trophic levels of planktonic food webs are less efficient in spatially and temporally variable ecosystems.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659
National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100007224
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000104
Schmidt Ocean Institute
National Science Foundation (NSF) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bk3j9kdbv