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Sedimentary and particulate organic matter: mixed sources for cockle Cerastoderma glaucum in a shallow pond, Western Mediterranean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2007

Gianluca Sarà
Gianluca Sarà*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale dell'Università, Università di Palermo,Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy
*
gsara@unipa.it
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Abstract

Seasonal changes in feeding habits and diet of the cockle Cerastoderma glaucum (Mollusca, Bivalvia) were analysed using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes. I aimed to investigate the role of benthic and pelagic sources in the diet of this dominant infaunal bivalve on a western Mediterranean sandy bottomed pond. Adult C. glaucum and all potential organic sources (particulate and sedimentary organic matter, seagrass, macroalgae, heterotrophic detritus) were collected and analysed for δ13C and δ15N. In total 5 dominant organic sources were found, ranging between –21.0 and –8.0 ‰ for δ13C and from 3.0 to about 7.0% for δ15N. C. glaucum assimilated fraction ranged between –14.0/–15.0% and 6.0/9.0% respectively, for carbon and nitrogen, while its estimated fractionation seasonally varied between 1 and 1.5 for carbon and was about 3 for nitrogen. C. glaucum reflected the isotopic composition of its food while maintaining, throughout the year, a fairly constant isotopic composition in its assimilated fraction, despite the high variability in isotopic composition of available sources.

Keywords

Infaunal bivalveStable isotopeFeeding behaviourFractionationMediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , July 2007 , pp. 271 - 277
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2007

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