Abstract
Population dynamics, vertical distribution and metabolism of copepods have been related to the onset of the spring phytoplankton increase in Kosterfjorden, western Sweden, in 1983. The overwintering stages of the two marine copepodsCalanus finmarchicus andMetridia longa displayed large differences in metabolic activity and behaviour.C. finmarchicus overwintered as Stage V copepodites in deep water and began to metamorphose to adults by the time the phytoplankton spring bloom started. Stage V copepodites did not feed, had low rates of respiration and excretion and low digestive enzyme activities, and remained in the deep water throughout the day and night.M. longa overwintered as adults, performed diurnal vertical migration, and had relatively high respiration and excretion rates and high digestive enzyme activities.M. longa fed throughout the entire water column, but feeding was most intense in the surface waters during the night. Adult femaleC. finmarchicus andM. longa responded rapidly to the onset of the spring phytoplankton bloom by increasing metabolic activities. Comparable results from Balsfjorden, northern Norway, indicated similar differences between the two species there, although the events in the phytoplankton and zooplankton populations in spring occur 1 to 2 mo later andM. longa spawns well after the culmination of the spring phytoplankton bloom. The differences due to species-specific variability and geographical locality are discussed and related to overwintering strategies.
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Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
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Båmstedt, U., Tande, K. Physiological responses ofCalanus finmarchicus andMetridia longa (Copepoda: Calanoida) during the winter-spring transition. Mar. Biol. 99, 31–38 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00644974
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00644974