Food web structure and trophic levels in polyculture ricecrab fields -- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2015,33(3):735-740

	Cite this paper:
	GUO Kai, ZHAO Wen, LI Wenkuan, ZHAO Yuansong, ZHANG Peng, ZHANG Chen. Food web structure and trophic levels in polyculture ricecrab fields[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2015, 33(3): 735-740

Food web structure and trophic levels in polyculture ricecrab fields

GUO Kai¹, ZHAO Wen¹, LI Wenkuan², ZHAO Yuansong¹, ZHANG Peng¹, ZHANG Chen¹

1 Key Laboratory of Hydrobiology in Liaoning Province, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China;
2 Freshwater Fisheries Science Institute of Liaoning Province, Liaoyang 111000, China

Abstract:

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were used to investigate nutrient pathways and trophic relationships from the rice-crab system in Panjin, Liaoning Province, China. Values of δ¹³C ranged from -27.38‰±0.44‰ to -18.34‰±0.26‰ and δ¹⁵N ranged from 1.10‰±0.88‰ to 9.33‰±0.57‰. Pseudorasbora parva (Stone moroko) had the highest δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values. The lowest δ¹³C values were obtained for the macrophytes and the lowest δ¹⁵N value was found in sediments. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were used to determine the contribution of different food items to the diets of crabs. The δ¹³C results indicated that the Pseudorasbora parva made the greatest contribution to the diet of Eriocheir sinensis (Chinese mitten crab), while the δ¹⁵N results indicated that most food items contributed more than 10% to the diet of the crab. There were three trophic levels identified in the system (Levels 0-2). The crab Eriocheir sinensis, fish Pseudorasbora parva and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Oriental weatherfish), and the oligochaete Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (Limnodrilus worm), were at the second level, zooplankton were at the first level and suspended particulate matter and macrophytes were at trophic position 0.

Key words: rice-crab culture|Eriocheir sinensis|stable carbon isotope|stable nitrogen isotope|trophic level

Received: 2014-07-25 Revised: 2014-10-10

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