Marleen De Troch

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Biology

One of the most common regulatory strategies to adapt to stress is by adjusting the degree of fatty acids (FAs) unsaturation. The ability to modify the type and quantity of cellular lipids allows cyanobacteria to avoid damage and be protected against the effects of extreme conditions. The combined effects of increased temperature and solar UVR on M...

Long‐chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC‐PUFAs) are physiologically important fatty acids for most animals, including humans. Although most LC‐PUFA production occurs in aquatic primary producers such as microalgae, recent research indicates the ability of certain groups of (mainly marine) invertebrates for endogenous LC‐PUFA biosynthesis a...

Offshore wind farms (OWFs) and their associated cables, foundations and scour protection are often constructed in soft sediment environments. This introduction of hard substrate has been shown to have similar effects as artificial reefs by providing food resources and offering increased habitat complexity, thereby aggregating fish around the turbin...

Copepods serve as a major link in marine food webs, bridging the energy transfer from primary producers to higher trophic levels. Oceanic warming is linked to reduced concentrations of essential fatty acids (FA) in phytoplankton, namely eicosap-entaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3), and it remains largely unknown if co...

Optical imaging devices such as the Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) harness unique capabilities to perform in situ observations and observe planktonic organisms in their natural environmental context. However, applying this technology in shallow and turbid coastal waters comes with a number of challenges. Depending on the research goal, methodologica...

The transition from marine to freshwater is a challenging task for juvenile eels. This critical step in the early eels’ life is preceded by a metamorphosis from the oceanic larval to the continental glass eel stage, requiring major energy‐demanding morphological, physiological and behavioural modifications during which time these animals do not fee...

Consumer regulation of lipid composition during assimilation of dietary items is related to their ecology, habitat, and life cycle, and may lead to extra energetic costs associated with the conversion of dietary material into the fatty acids (FAs) necessary to meet metabolic requirements. For example, lipid-rich copepods from temperate and polar la...

Copepods serve as a major link in marine food webs, bridging the energy transfer from primary producers to higher trophic levels. Oceanic warming is linked to reduced concentrations of essential fatty acids (FA) in phytoplankton, and it remains unknown if copepods have the capacity to endure. The calanoid Temora longicornis , dominant in the Belgia...

The Atlantic seabob shrimp, Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) (Penaeidae), is commonly found on western Atlantic coasts and of high commercial importance in Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana. Current genetic resources on X. kroyeri are scarce and no genomic studies are available. This study reports the complete mitochondrial genome of X. kroyeri. Usin...

Scientific research addressing environmental conditions of aquatic ecosystems has high priority in Peru. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge on environmental contamination of Peruvian marine ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, this review article summarizes the available information in order to estimate the environmental health status...

Local food webs result from a sequence of colonisations and extinctions by species from the regional pool or metaweb, that is, the assembly process. Assembly is theorised to be a selective process: whether or not certain species or network structures can persist is partly determined by local processes including habitat filtering and dynamical const...

Under the present changing climate conditions and the observed temperature increase, it is of high importance to understand its effects on aquatic microbial life, and organisms' adaptations at the biochemical level. To adjust to temperature or salinity stress and avoid cell damage, organisms alter their degree of fatty acids (FAs) saturation. Thus,...

The phylum Mollusca represents one of the largest groups of marine invertebrates. Nowadays, molluscan shellfish belonging to the classes Bivalvia and Gastropoda are of commercial interest for fisheries and aquaculture. Although bioactive properties of bivalve molluscs have been widely investigated and several dietary supplements have been brought t...

In bacteria, exposure to changes in environmental conditions can alter membrane fluidity, thereby affecting its essential functions in cell physiology. To adapt to these changes, bacteria maintain appropriate fluidity by varying the composition of the fatty acids of membrane phospholipids, a phenomenon known as homeophasic adaptation. In Pseudomona...

This study describes the fatty acid (FA) composition of three commercially important species of shrimp, from a region with the largest mangrove forests in Brazil Fatty acids composition shows the nutritional quality of the shrimps and their importance as a node of energy transfer in the trophic web. The FA profiles of three shrimp species with diff...

The combined efects of increased temperature and solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) on M. aeruginosa cultures was analyzed in terms of cell abundance, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), antioxidant activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S transferase (GST), fatty acids (FA) content and lipid dama...

Biomarker analysis, especially fatty acids (FA) and stable isotopes (SI), has become a useful tool to elucidate the flow of energy and trophic interactions in an ecosystem and to analyse the diet of species that are hard to observe whilst feeding. Herein we compare FA profiles and SI composition (nitrogen, δ¹⁵N and carbon, δ¹³C) of muscle tissue fr...

This study investigates the trophic interactions and As and Cd transfer along seven marine ecosystems in Peru. Five of these ecosystems are driven by aquaculture of the Peruvian scallop Argopecten purpuratus. A southward increased gradient of δ15N was observed among the three examined regions along the Peruvian coast. The stable isotope analysis in...

Supporting information - Trophic interactions and metal transfer in marine ecosystems driven by the Peruvian scallop Argopecten purpuratus aquaculture

The combined effects of increased temperature and solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) on M. aeruginosa cultures was analyzed in terms of cell abundance, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), antioxidant activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S transferase (GST), fatty acids (FA) content and lipid dam...

Marine phytoplankton can utilize different strategies to cope with ocean warming and freshening from glacial melting in polar regions, which are disproportionally impacted by global warming. In the present study, we investigated the individual and combined effects of a 4°C increase in seawater temperature (T⁺) and a 4 psu decrease in salinity (S⁻)...

The success of Limnoperna fortunei as an invasive freshwater bivalve species is related to its physiological plasticity to endure changes in environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological responses of L. fortunei after feeding on Microcystis aeruginosa grown at 26 • C (control) and 29 • C during 10 days. At the...

In rocky shore systems, sessile macrobenthic assemblages may act as “ecosystem engineers” for many smaller benthic organisms. Thus, the influence of macrobenthic coverage on the diversity and assemblage structure of the harpacticoid copepod fauna was investigated in the rocky shores of a Marine Protect Area (MPA) in the Ligurian Sea (NW, Mediterran...

Accumulation of exported macrophytodetritus (AEM) represent unique habitats formed by the dead material originating from macrophyte ecosystems (e.g., seagrass, kelp, other seaweeds). AEM can be found everywhere, from the littoral zone to the deepest canyons, and from high to low latitudes. Seagrass AEMs are among the most common detrital accumulati...

In this technical report, we describe the data needed, the preprocessing steps taken and the next steps ahead in order to develop a fully calibrated ecosystem model for the southern part of the North Sea.

The effects of dietary poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) on the lipid and fatty acids (FA) in crustaceans were investigated using Artemia as model species. Supplying PHB either in crystalline or amorphous form significantly increased the whole‐body lipid contents of starved Artemia. Co‐supplying dietary PHB with bacterial PHB degrader Comamonas testoste...

Determining the lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of aquatic organisms has been of major interest in trophic ecology, aquaculture, and nutrition for over half a century. Although protocols for lipid analysis are well-described, their application to aquatic sciences often requires modifications to adapt to field conditions and to sample...

By 2100, global warming is predicted to significantly reduce the capacity of marine primary producers for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) synthesis. Primary consumers such as harpacticoid copepods (Crustacea) might mitigate the resulting adverse effects on the food web by increased LC-PUFA bioconversion. Here, we present a high-qual...

Fish farm-originating organic matter can modify the ecological processes in a benthic ecosystem. This was investigated in the sediments of the northern Adriatic Sea by measuring δ 13 C signature of nematodes, harpacticoids, and sedimentary organic matter, and by assessing pore water nutrients and bacterial composition. In a mesocosm experiment, 13...

Este Policy Brief (PB) se enfoca en el análisis de las concentraciones acumuladas de contaminantes (ej. metales) en diferentes especies marinas (o grupos taxonómicos) comestibles de diferentes regiones del Perú. Además, se determinó la cantidad (kg/semana) de consumo seguro (o máximo) de estas especies, y a la vez la cuantificación del aporte de el...

A preliminary study was conducted to demonstrate fate of the bacterial storage compound poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) once ingested and degraded in vivo in crustaceans. The 2% supplementation of 13C‐labeled Ralstonia eutropha DSM545 containing 75% PHB on dry weight in postlarval whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei resulted in consistent enrichment...

Tropical seagrasses support abundant and diverse epiphytic microalgae that form the base of seagrass food webs. To help better understand the influence of structural variability of tropical seagrass meadows on associated microalgal epiphytes, we quantified the relative abundance and distribution of epiphytic microphytes in subtidal meadows of Thala...

We examined the effect of glacial melt-related retreat environmental conditions on the spatial heterogeneity of food sources for Antarctic nearshore marine benthic communities of Potter Cove, a representative fjord on King George Island on the West Antarctic Peninsula. Focusing on Antarctic suspension feeders, we surveyed the variation of carbon (δ...

Seafood could be a promising way to supplement healthy fatty acids and trace elements to the Peruvian diet. Seafood from northern Peru was characterized with the highest relative concentrations of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), while in the center region marine species had the lowest As and Pb contents. Peruvian marine species a...

Supplementary data 1

Four Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and yellow-orange pigmented bacteria (R-46770, R-48165T, R-50232 and R-50233) were isolated from intertidal sediment and water of the Westerschelde estuary between 2006 and 2012. Analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the four strains form a separate cluster between validly described type str...

Archaea have been the most overlooked and enigmatic of the three domains of life for decades. Knowledge of key ecological interactions such as trophic links between this domain and higher level organisms remains extremely limited. The co-occurrence of halophilic Archaea (haloarchaea) and the non-selective filter feeder, brine shrimp Artemia under t...

While different microalgae tend to be associated with different bacteria, it remains unclear if such specific associations are beneficial for the microalgae. We assessed the impact of bacterial isolates, derived from various marine benthic diatoms, on the growth of several strains belonging to the Cylindrotheca closterium diatom species complex. We...

Biomarker analysis, especially fatty acids (FA) and stable isotopes (SI), has become a useful tool to elucidate the flow of energy and trophic interactions in an ecosystem and to analyse the diet of species that are hard to observe while feeding. Herein we compare FA profiles and SI composition (nitrogen, δ15N and carbon, δ13C) of muscle tissue fro...

By 2100, global warming is predicted to significantly reduce the capacity of marine primary producers for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFAs) synthesis. Primary consumers such as harpacticoid copepods (Crustacea) might mitigate the resulting adverse effects on the food web by increased LC-PUFA bioconversion. Here, we present a high-qua...

Supplementary data

The present study analyzed the Peruvian scallop Argopecten purpuratus and its food sources for metal and fatty acid concentrations in order to determine spatial and temporal differences. Metals such as copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in gills and iron (Fe) and Zn in sediments were the most significant explaining factors for spatial diffe...

Assessing population genetic structure is a crucial step to support fisheries and conservation management. DNA microsatellite molecular markers are a widely used tool in population genotyping. In the present study, we characterised and developed 14 novel polymorphic microsatellite markers for a decapod crustacean, the Atlantic seabob shrimp Xiphope...

jats:title>Abstract The recognition of cryptic biodiversity provides valuable insights for the management of exploited species. The Atlantic seabob shrimp (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) is a commercially important fishery resource in the Guianan ecoregion, South America. Previous research in Brazil suggested the presence of cryptic species within the genus...

The meroplanktonic larvae of benthic organisms are an important seasonal component of the zooplankton in temperate coastal waters. The larvae of the reef-building polychaete Lanice conchilega contribute up to 15% of the summer zooplankton biomass in the North Sea. Despite their importance for reef maintenance (which positively affects the benthic c...

Benthic diatoms are dominant primary producers in intertidal mudflats and constitute a major source of organic carbon to consumers and decomposers residing within these ecosystems. They typically form biofilms whose species richness, community composition and productivity can vary in response to environmental drivers and their interactions with oth...

The larvae of the reef-building polychaete Lanice conchilega can make up to 15% of the summer zooplankton biomass in the North Sea. Despite their importance for reef maintenance (which positively affects the benthic community), little is known about the trophic ecology of this meroplanktonic larva. Qualitative and quantitative estimates of carbon (...

The larvae of the reef-building polychaete Lanice conchilega can make up to 15% of the summer zooplankton biomass in the North Sea. Despite their importance for reef maintenance (which positively affects the benthic community), little is known about the trophic ecology of this meroplanktonic larva. Qualitative and quantitative estimates of carbon (...

The use of stable isotope (SI) labelling and tracing of live diets is currently considered one of the most comprehensive tools to detect their uptake and assimilation by aquatic organisms. These techniques are indeed widely used in nutritional studies to follow the fate of specific microbial dietary components, unraveling trophic interactions. Neve...

The Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) is subjected to multiple environmental stressors. The impact of these stressors includes the modulation of fatty acid (FA) composition of the zooplankton. This study recorded temporal and spatial patterns of the FA profiles of two dominant calanoid copepods within the BPNS: Temora longicornis (Müller, 1785)...

Scallops and their potential predators were collected in Sechura Bay and in front of the Illescas Reserved Zone (north Peru), during El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) 2016, and analyzed for the metals chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). This study showed that ~20...

Benthic copepods dominate meiofaunal communities from marine phytodetritus, both in terms of numerical abundance and species diversity. Nevertheless, ecological factors driving copepod coexistence and population dynamics are still largely unknown. Here, we aimed to explore feeding habits of four copepod species commonly found in Mediterranean seagr...

In recent years, several indicators have been proposed to assess the effect of human activities on ecosystems provisioning capacity. Some of these methods focus on the Net Primary Production (NPP) available for ecosystem functioning through the comparison between the Human Appropriated Net Primary Production (HANPP) and the ecosystem's initial NPP...

This study aims to identify the effect of biodeposition from a non-indigenous scallop (bay scallop) farm on sediment organisms in a semi-closed bay in Bohai Sea, China. Sediment characteristics, the meifauna community, and harpacticoid copepod assemblages were investigated before aquaculture and during the high biodeposition period at three scallop...

Mixture effects of chemicals and their potential synergistic interactions are of great concern to the public and regulatory authorities worldwide. Intensive agricultural activities are leading to discharges of chemical mixtures to nearby estuarine and marine waters with possible adverse effects on the aquatic communities and for the trophic food we...

Uno de los desafíos a los que se enfrenta la ecología es comprender cómo se organizan las comunidades y las redes complejas de interacciones tróficas. También es importante entender de qué manera responden las propiedades emergentes de las redes ante los cambios ambientales. Los modelos ecológicos deben considerar a las especies como componentes in...

Local food webs can be studied as the realisation of a sequence of colonising and extinction events, where a regional pool of species — called the metaweb— acts as a source for new species. Food webs are thus the result of assembly processes that are influenced by migration, habitat filtering, stochastic factors, and dynamical constraints. Therefor...

The farming of the non-indigenous bay scallop Argopecten irradians in coastal waters generates large amounts of biodeposits that potentially change the trophic pathways and quality of the benthic food web at lower trophic levels such as meiobenthos. To understand the trophic link between faecal pellets of bay scallop and meiobenthos in the aquacult...

The copepod Temora longicornis depends on constant prey availability, but its performance also depends on how efficiently it utilizes its food sources. Our research goal was to understand copepod energy allocation in relation to diet quality. The working hypothesis was that Temora performs better on the diet whose elemental ratio is closest to its...

The copepod Temora longicornis depends on constant prey availability. Given that climate change may induce food regime shifts, our research goal was to understand copepod energy allocation in relation to diet quality. The working hypothesis was that Temora performs better on the diet whose elemental ratio is closest to its own. Diatoms (Diat) and d...

Human activities increasingly impact the functioning of marine food webs, but anthropogenic stressors are seldom included into ecological study designs. Diet quality, as distinct from just diet quantity, has moreover rarely been highlighted in food web studies in a stress context. We measured the effects of metal and pesticide stress (copper and at...

Pesticides and metals are often used in agriculture and are therefore often simultaneously discharged to nearby estuarine and marine areas. The effects of this organic-inorganic chemical mixture on food quality of aquatic organisms are currently unknown. In this study we test if a mixture of copper (inorganic) and the herbicide Primextra® Gold TZ (...

The population structure of the non-indigenous calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus marinus (Sato, 1913) in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) is reported for the first time. Detailed P. marinus abundance data including sex and age class of the individuals was gathered on a monthly basis from February 2015 to February 2016 at six sites within the...

The effect of multiple stressors on marine ecosystems remains poorly understood and most of the knowledge available is related to phytoplankton. To partly address this knowledge gap, we tested if combining multimodel inference with generalized additive modelling could quantify the relative contribution of environmental variables on the population d...

Knowledge of the food web structure and complexity are central to better understand ecosystem functioning. A food-web approach includes both species and energy flows among them, providing a natural framework for characterizing species’ ecological roles and the mechanisms through which biodiversity influences ecosystem dynamics. Here we present for...

Knowledge of the food web structure and complexity are central to better understand ecosystem functioning. A food-web approach includes both species and energy flows among them, providing a natural framework for characterizing species’ ecological roles and the mechanisms through which biodiversity influences ecosystem dynamics. Here we present for...

Several models have been developed for the description of diversity in estuaries and other brackish habitats, with the most recognized being Remane’s Artenminimum (‘‘species minimum’’) concept. It was developed for the Baltic Sea, one of the world’s largest semi-enclosed brackish water body with a unique permanent salinity gradient, and it argues t...

Bar chart showing the abundances of the main classes of the Proteobacteria phylum, at the sampling stations AR, Arachthos; ARO, Arachthos Neochori; ARDelta, Arachthos Delta; LOin, Logarou station inside the lagoon; LOout, Logarou station in the channel connecting the lagoon to the gulf; Kal, Kalamitsi.

The fraction of unexplained taxonomic units per habitat The fraction of unexplained taxonomic units per habitat, as it was derived during the functional profiling using UProC KEGG Ortholog reference profiles in long read mode. FTU, fraction of unexplained taxonomic units.

The values of the Mann-Whitney U tests The values of the Mann-Whitney U tests used for the post-hoc pairwise significant comparisons, after the Bonferroni correction. OTUs, total number of OTUs; H’, Shannon-Wiener; J’, Pielou’s evenness; d, Margalef’s species richness; ACE, Abundance Coverage Estimator; AR, Arachthos; ARO, Arachthos Neochori; ARDel...