Predation by estuarine zooplankton on tintinnid ciliates

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the feeding performances of Uca zoeae and the estuarine copepods Acartia tonsa and Tortanus setacaudatus when these zooplankton preyed upon the co-occurring tintinnids Favella panamensis (length 265 μm) and Tintinnopsis tubulosa (length 148 μm). Predation by Favella on Tintinnopsis was also studied. Over the range of experimental prey densities used, Acartia ingested Tintinopsis at rates linearly related to prey density. Favella was ingested by Aractia at higher rates than was Tintinnopsis. Tortamus ingested Favella more readily than did Acartia, but Tortanus did not ingest Tintinnopsis. Uca ingested both Tintinnopsis and Favella while Tintinnopsis was also ingested by the larger tintinnid Favella. Comparisons of Acartia predation on tintinnids with published data on ingestion of nauplii and phytoplankton showed that when the phytoplankton are dominated by small (diameters < 10 μm) species, tintinnids in concentrations exceeding 10 3 organisms 1 −1 can be important items in the diets of Acartia. At lower tintinnid concentrations or when algal species with diameters > 10 μm are present in significant concentrations, tintinnids merely supplement algae in the diet of Acartia. Generally, tintinnids are more important food items for Acartia than are comparably sized nauplii. Only at concentrations exceeding 10 4 cop. m −3 can Acartia depress tintinid population growth.