Ingestion of trace metals by the opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta, determined by laser ablation sampling - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Differences in the diet of individual mysids can be determined by analysing the elemental composition of the gut contents of individual mysids with laser ablation sampling - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Two groups of the opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta, were cultured in the laboratory for a 2-week period. One group was fed a diet of Daphnia magna and the other lake sediment. Although the element:Sr ratios within the gut were highly variable, mean element:Sr ratios of several elements (V, Pb, Ca) in the gut of mysids fed D. magna were significantly different from those in the gut of sediment-fed mysids.