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Vertical distribution, population structure and life cycles of four oncaeid copepods in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific

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Abstract

Vertical distribution and population structure of four dominant oncaeid copepods (Triconia borealis, Triconia canadensis, Oncaea grossa and Oncaea parila) were investigated in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific. Seasonal samples were collected with 0.06 mm mesh nets from five discrete layers between the surface and 2,000 m depth at seven occasions (March, May, June, August and October 2002, December 2003 and February 2004). The depth of occurrence of major populations of each species differed by species; the surface–250 m for T. borealis, 250–1,000 m for T. canadensis, 250–500 m for O. grossa and 500–1,000 m for O. parila. The ontogenetic vertical migration characterized by deeper occurrence of early and late copepodid stages, and shallower occurrence of middle copepodid stages was observed in T. canadensis and O. parila. Of the four oncaeid copepods, almost all copepodid stages occurred throughout the study period, suggesting that their reproduction continues throughout the year in the region. Nevertheless, a clear developmental sequence of stage-to-stage was traced for T. canadensis and O. grossa copepodids, implying their generation time to be 1 year. For T. borealis and O. parila copepodids, no clear seasonal succession was observed thus estimation of their generation time was uncertain. The present comprehensive results of vertical distribution and life cycle features for T. borealis, T. canadensis, O. grossa and O. parila are compared with the few published data on oncaeid species distributing in high latitude seas.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly thank Dr. R. Böttger-Schnack for reviewing an earlier draft of this paper; her constructive comments significantly improved the manuscript. Dr. J. T. Turner provided editorial advice. Thanks are extended to the captains and crews of T.S. ‘Oshoro Maru’ and R.V. ‘Ushio Maru’ (Hokkaido University) for their help in field samplings. We thank Ms. Y. Shichinohe who kindly provided unpublished data on appendicularians in the Oyashio region. Y. N. is grateful to the Division of Aquatic Biology and Ecology, Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, for providing logistical and financial support for the data analysis and manuscript preparation. This study was supported partly by JSPS KAKENHI 14209001.

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  1. Yuichiro Nishibe

    Present address: Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

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  1. Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, 041-8611, Japan

    Yuichiro Nishibe & Tsutomu Ikeda

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  1. Yuichiro Nishibe
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Correspondence to Yuichiro Nishibe.

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Communicated by S. Nishida, Tokyo

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Nishibe, Y., Ikeda, T. Vertical distribution, population structure and life cycles of four oncaeid copepods in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific. Mar Biol 150, 609–625 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0382-5

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