Evaluation of chitobiase-based estimates of biomass and production rates for developing freshwater crustacean zooplankton communities

Abstract

Increasing attention has been devoted to the development of alternative (often biochemical) methods for measuring crustacean zooplankton productivity because conventional methods are not globally applicable and rarely practical when community-level rates are required. Here we evaluate the chitobiase method as a rapid, routine and instantaneous method for measuring the productivity of freshwater crustacean zooplankton communities. Chitobiase, a moulting enzyme, is liberated into water following moulting and production rates are calculated by measuring its turnover rate in the water column. First, using literature-based instar- and stage-specific individual body mass values, we found a common relationship between post-moult body size (and individual chitobiase activity) and the biomass produced between successive moults for common freshwater groups. Secondly, using a time-series of weekly measurements in a North-Temperate lake, we found a good correspondence between the standing activity of chitobiase in the water column (CBANAT) and the biomass sampled by a plankton net and laser optical plankton counter (LOPC). Overall, however, CBA NAT-based biomass more closely corresponded to LOPC-based biomass estimates. Lastly, depth-specific biomass production rates and daily production to biomass estimates varied positively with temperature. Daily production to biomass ratios also varied closely with predictions of a taxon-specific temperature-dependent model for freshwater zooplankton. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.