Direct Examination of the Dietary Preference of the Copepod Calanus helgolandicus Using the Colorimetric Approach

The food selectivity of tethered females of the copepod Calanus helgolandicus was examined by using the colorimetric approach. First, feeding behavior of the copepod did not show any differences between the red-color stained with neutral red and non-stained diets using the diatom Coscinodiscus curvatulus. Then, the copepods were fed a mixtures of two diets, the diatom C. curvatulus, stained with neutral red, and the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium sanguineum for $14\sim60$ minutes of feeding duration. The foregut colors of females were examined using a stereo-microscope and a video monitor. The foreguts of animals fed with a high density of diatoms in mixed diets showed a dark red color, whereas those fed with a high density of dinoflagellate in mixed diets were a dark yellow. The results suggest that this species of copepod may not selectively feed either one of the diets used for this study. Their feeding activity may be more likely related to the density of available prey in their environment. Therefore, this quick and easy colorimetric approach could provide very useful information, like the pre-screening procedure before designing and conducting the time-consuming and complex feeding experiments to understand the feeding ecology of copepods.