Abstract
In situ feeding habits of the copepods T. turbinata and T. stylifera were investigated by scanning electron microscope examination of fecal pellets, the contents of which reflected copepod gut contents upon capture. Pellet contents were compared with assemblages of available phytoplankton in the water column at the times of zooplankton sampling. Samples were collected in continental shelf and slope waters of the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Both species ingested a wide size range and taxonomic array of phytolankters, and to a lesser extent, other crustaceans. Fecal pellets contained primarily the remains of the phytoplankters that were not abundant in the water at times of collection. There was considerable overlap in the food items ingested by adult females of both copepod species, or 2 stages of T. turbinata copepodites. T. turbinata and T. stylifera are omnivores, but primarily opportunistic herbivores