Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS37 Zooplankton

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, Time: 11:15:00 AM

Location: Aztec

Irigoien, X, , Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom, xi@mail.soc.soton.ac.uk

Harris, R, P, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom, RPH@pml.ac.uk

DOES CALANUS CONTROL OTHER COPEPODS ABUNDANCE ?

Many studies have shown the ability of adult copepods to predate into eggs and naupliae of the same or other species. Some of the filtration rates attained in those interactions are not negligible and therefore copepods of one species have the potential to control other species abundance by predating on their young stages. In this study we have analysed weekly variations in the abundance of three copepods (Calanus finmarchicus and helgolandicus, Acartia clausi and Oithona similis) in two different sites, one oceanic (Station India from 1971 to 1975) and another one coastal (Station L4 from 1988 to 1997), in order to investigate whether the interactions between species can be detected at the abundance level. In the oceanic station the abundance of Acartia and Oithona is clearly depressed at the peak of Calanus, whereas at the coastal station all three species tend to have simultaneous peaks of abundance. Those results are discussed in view of the environmental and biological characteristics of the three species.

This Session Listing

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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