A pigment analysis of feeding modes of Thelepus extensus (Polychaeta, Terebellidae) in relation to wave exposure at the Îles Kerguelen

Abstract

Pigment analysis (HPLC and fluorometry) and light microscopy observations of the gut content of Thelepus extensus (Terebellidae) and surrounding sediments were carried out at two hydrodynamically contrasting sites at subantarctic Îles Kerguelen; 1) a sheltered site (Port-Raymond) with a dense population of large-bodied animals, and 2) an exposed site (Port-aux-Français) with a scarce population of smaller individuals. Chlorophyll a derivatives (phaeophorbide a-like) were the most abundant pigments in sediments and polychaete digestive tracts. The second important group of pigments consisted of five unknown carotenoids of which two were present only in the polychaete digestive tract. Pigments in the muddy sediment at the sheltered site appeared to originate from the grazing activity of the polychaetes, as suggested by the high concentrations of degradation products and the same phaeophorbides observed both in the sediment and in the gut contents. Material originating from the dense Macrocystis pyrifera (Phaeophyceae) and Ulvae (Chlorophyceae) cover constituted a large part of the polychaetes' diet at this sheltered site, as indicated by macroalgal debris in the gut contents and the presence of violaxanthin in the sediment and lutein/zeaxanthin in both polychaetes and sediments. The polychaetes seem to adapt their grazing mode to the environmental conditions, preferring suspension feeding in the sheltered site and deposit feeding at the exposed site. The different morphologies, behaviours and life spans of the two conspecific populations may by linked to the contrasting hydrodynamics of the two sites and to their respective diets.