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Effects of temperature and food quality on isotopic turnover and discrimination in a cladoceran

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Abstract

Our experimental study was designed to assess the effects of temperature on nitrogen isotope turnover and to measure the effects of temperature and food quality on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope discrimination factors (Δ13C and Δ15N) in a cladoceran. For the first part of our study, Daphnia were fed with non-enriched or 15N-enriched Scenedesmus obliquus at 12, 15, 20, and 25 °C. For the second part, Daphnia were reared at 15, 20, and 25 °C on Scenedesmus or Cryptomonas sp. There were no clear effects of temperature on turnover rates of the nitrogen isotope of cladocerans. However, a general increase in Δ13C with increasing temperature was measured, regardless of the food source. Δ15N was also affected by temperature, but contrasting results were measured depending on the food source used. There were significant effects of food quality on Δ13C and Δ15N in Daphnia, as values obtained for Daphnia fed Scenedesmus were always higher than those obtained for Daphnia fed Cryptomonas. Our experiments produced discrimination factors that were very different from those usually considered in isotope studies and showed that the values used for isotope model implementation to analyze field data need to be adapted to environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. We thank Sven Kaehler and Rachel Ndhlovu from IsoEnvironmental cc, Grahamstown, for completing the isotope analysis. We are also grateful to Jaclyn M. Hill for providing the enriched 15N nutrients, Alexandre Bec for his help with the phytoplankton cultures, Bernadette Hubbart for administrative assistance, and Martin Villet, Tatenda Dalu, Sydney Moyo, and Lenin Chari for field assistance.

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  1. Hélène Masclaux

    Present address: Laboratoire Chrono-environnement UMR CNRS 6249, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 25000, Besançon, France

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  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Hélène Masclaux & Nicole B. Richoux

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  1. Hélène Masclaux
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  2. Nicole B. Richoux
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Correspondence to Hélène Masclaux.

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Handling Editor: Piet Spaak.

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Masclaux, H., Richoux, N.B. Effects of temperature and food quality on isotopic turnover and discrimination in a cladoceran. Aquat Ecol 51, 33–44 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9592-1

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