Abstract
In order to investigate the diversity of diet composition in macrobenthic peracarid crustaceans from the Antarctic shelf and deep sea, the fatty acid (FA) composition of different species belonging to the orders Isopoda, Amphipoda, Cumacea and Tanaidacea was analysed. Multivariate analyses of the FA composition confirmed general differences between the orders, but also distinct differences within these orders. To gain information on the origin of the FAs found, the potential food sources sediment, POM and foraminiferans were included in the study. Most of the analysed amphipod species displayed high 18:1(n−9)–18:1(n−7) ratios, widely used as an indicator for a carnivorous component in the diet. Cumaceans were characterised by increased phytoplankton FA markers such as 20:5(n−3) (up to 29% of total FAs), suggesting a diet based on phytodetritus. High values of the FA 20:4(n−6) were found in some munnopsid isopods (up to 21% of total FAs) and some tanaidacean species (up to 19% of total FAs). 20:4(n−6) also occurred in high proportions in some foraminiferan samples (up to 21% of total fatty acids), but not in sediment and POM, possibly indicating the ingestion of foraminiferans by some peracarid crustaceans.
