Determining spatial changes in the diet of nearshore suspension-feeders along the South African coastline: Stable isotope and fatty acid signatures

Mesoscale oceanographic features, such as upwellings, are known to play an important role in regulating the structure and productivity of nearshore marine communities. Stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) and fatty acid analyses were employed to assess the influence of an upwelling cell along the south-eastern coastline of southern Africa on the diet of the mussel, Perna perna. Eight sites were sampled: two upstream, three in the vicinity and three downstream of the upwelling cell. Stable isotope and fatty acid signatures indicated that the mussels consumed a diet of detritus derived mainly from macroalgae, diatoms and dinoflagellates. One-way ANOVA on the δ13C and δ15N signatures and the principal component analysis of the fatty acid profiles of the mussels identified distinct groups corresponding to the above mentioned regions. The proportion of diatom biomarkers in the fatty acid profiles decreased downstream of the upwelling region while the proportion of dinoflagellate biomarkers increased. Upwelling regions are typically associated with elevated levels of productivity; however, these systems usually become silicon depleted and result in the replacement of diatoms with dinoflagellates. The highest proportions of the dinoflagellate markers were recorded in the two furthest sites downstream of the upwelling cell. The spatial variation in the diet of the mussels, therefore, appears to reflect the presence of the upwelling cell in the nearshore biology of the region.