Using DNA Metabarcoding to Characterize the Prey Spectrum of Two Co-Occurring Themisto Amphipods in the Rapidly Changing Atlantic-Arctic Gateway Fram Strait.

ABSTRACT: The two congeneric hyperiids Themisto libellula and T. abyssorum provide an important trophic link between lower and higher trophic levels in the rapidly changing Arctic marine ecosystem. These amphipods are characterized by distinct hydrographic affinities and are hence anticipated to be impacted differently by environmental changes, with major consequences for the Arctic food web. In this study, we applied DNA metabarcoding to the stomach contents of these Themisto species, to comprehensively reveal their prey spectra at an unprecedented-high-taxonomic-resolution and assess the regional variation in their diet across the Fram Strait. Both species feed on a wide variety of prey but their diet strongly differed in the investigated summer season, showing overlap for onl

SUBMITTER: Dischereit A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9690572 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature