Reassessment of the gut pigment method for estimating in situ zooplankton ingestion

Abstract

Correction for chlorophyll pigment destruction has been frequently used in calculation of copepod ingestion rates using the gut pigment method. We argue that tracers in the gut may be either digested and assimilated, or evacuated, and that both processes are taken into account when an evacuation (disappearance) rate curve is determined. As a result, any correction for gut pigment destruction in calculating ingestion rate is inappropriate. © Inter-Research 2007.