Fecal pellet ingestion rate and feeding behavior of Oithona similis, Calanus helgolandicus and Pseudocalanus elongatus from the North Sea

Studies of fecal pellet flux show that a large percentage of pellets produced in the upper ocean is degraded within the surface waters. It is therefore important to investigate these degradation mechanisms to understand the role of fecal pellets in the oceanic carbon cycle. Degradation of pellets is mainly thought to be caused by coprophagy (ingestion of fecal pellets) by copepods, and especially by the ubiquitous copepods Oithona spp. We examined fecal pellet ingestion rate and feeding behavior of O. similis and 2 other dominant copepod species from the North Sea (Calanus helgolandicus and Pseudocalanus elongatus). All investigations were done with fecal pellets as the sole food source and with fecal pellets offered together with an alternative suitable food source. The ingestion of fecal pellets by all 3 copepod species was highest when offered together with an alternative food source. No feeding behavior was determined for O. similis due to the lack of pellet capture in those experiments. Fecal pellets offered together with an alternative food source increased the filtration activity by C. helgolandicus and P. elongatus and thereby the number of pellets caught in their feeding current. However, most pellets were rejected immediately after capture and were often fragmented during rejection. Actual ingestion of captured pellets was rare (<37% for C. helgolandicus and <24% for P. elongatus), and only small pellet fragments were ingested unintentionally along with alternative food. We therefore suggest coprorhexy (fragmentation of pellets) to be the main effect of copepods on the vertical flux of fecal pellets. Coprorhexy turns the pellets into smaller, slower-sinking particles that can then be degraded by other organisms such as bacteria and protozooplankton.

Phytoplankton biomass, chlorophyll concentration, and variability of lipid content in Calanus euxinus in the Black Sea in June 1991

During field studies relationships between chlorophyll concentrations, phytoplankton biomass (total, individual sizes and species) and level of accumulation of total lipids, wax esters, triacylglycerols, and phospholipids in C. euxinus (copepodites V and females) were studied. These relationships allowed to display not only simple trophic relations between isolated parts of the C. euxinus population and phytoplankton, but also selective role of individual algae species in forming lipid reserves too. Besides it was found that geographical variability of chlorophyll concentration and phytoplankton biomass correlates closely only with those lipid fractions (wax esters and phospholipids) of C. euxinus, which accumulated and kept in a body for a fairly long time. No correlation was found between phytoplankton and for rapidly metabolized triacylglycerols, which have to be utilized within few hours.

Total biomass of mesoplankton and biomass of Calanus tonsus in the 0-200 m layer at stations in the Southwest Pacific

Structure of mesoplankton and distribution of dissolved ammonia in the vicinity of an isolated seamount of the Louisville Ridge in the subantarctic zone of the Pacific Ocean was studied using data obtained in January 1985 in an area 20 x 30 nm. There were areas with both high (20-25 to 139 g/m**2 in the 0-200 m layer) and low biomass values (<10 g/m**2) of mesoplankton. In the areas with high biomass, a single species Calanus tonsus was strongly dominant (>80% of biomass); its population was relatively mature in seasonal terms, with relatively high percentage of individuals containing fat inclusions. Stations with high mesoplankton biomass also had relatively high concentrations of dissolved ammonia. Presence of plankton-rich areas corre¬lated with presence of a quasi-steady-state topographic eddy. Lifetimes of these nonuniformities in the structure of mesoplankton are estimated as 10-30 days.

Ion concentrations and extracelluar pH of Calanus glacialis in Billefjorden, Svalbard

Arctic shelf zooplankton communities are dominated by the copepod Calanus glacialis. This species feeds in surface waters during spring and summer and accumulates large amounts of lipids. Autumn and winter are spent in dormancy in deeper waters. Lipids are believed to play a major role in regulating buoyancy, however, they cannot explain fine-tuning of the depth distribution. To investigate whether ion exchange processes and acid-base regulation support ontogenetic migration as suggested for Antarctic copepods, we sampled C. glacialis in monthly intervals for 1 yr in a high-Arctic fjord and determined cation concentrations and the extracellular pH (pHe) in its hemolymph. During the winter/spring transition, prior to the upward migration of the copepods, Li+ ions were exchanged with cations (Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) leading to Li+ concentrations of 197 mmol/L. This likely decreased the density and promoted upward migration in C. glacialis. Our data thus suggest that Li+ has a biological function in this species. Ion and pHe regulation in the hemolymph were not directly correlated, but the pHe revealed a seasonal pattern and was low (5.5) in winter and high (7.9) in summer. Low pHe during overwintering might be related to metabolic depression and thus, support diapause.