Infection of the planktonic copepod Calanus finmarchicus by the parasitic dinoflagellate, Blastodinium spp: effects on grazing, respiration, fecundity and fecal pellet production

ABSTRACT The calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus annandalei is used as live feed in aquaculture because of its nutritional value and the ability to cope with environmental fluctuations in outdoor ponds. However, little knowledge exists on its ecology. Here we investigated the ecology of P. annandalei in an aquaculture pond in Vietnam. Temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a and biomass of protozoans and copepods were monitored every other day for 1 month. Experiments on protozoan growth and grazing by P. annandalei were also conducted. Copepod fecal pellet production and temperature-dependent egg hatching rates were likewise quantified. Despite very high phytoplankton biomass, biomass of P. annandalei was surprisingly low. Copepod production was estimated from three independent methods: clearance, weight-specific egg production rate (SEP) and specific fecal pellet production rate. SEP proved to be accurate to predict the in situ population growth in the pond. A simple model for production of P. annandalei based on SEP was developed. Our study extends our knowledge of how environmental conditions in the pond may affect the population dynamics and production of copepods. The results have important implications for pond managements ensuring stable copepod production and harvest.

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Importance of Feeding, Direct Uptake from Seawater, and Transfer from Generation to Generation in the Accumulation of an Organochlorine (p,p′-DDT) by the Marine Planktonic Copepod Calanus finmarchicus

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f81-013 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 101-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Gareth C. Harding ◽

W. Peter Vass ◽

Ken F. Drinkwater

Keyword(s):

Equilibrium Concentration ◽

Calanus Finmarchicus ◽

Planktonic Copepod ◽

Model Simulations ◽

Marine Copepod ◽

Planktonic Crustaceans

The accumulation of an organochlorine by the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus, through feeding on contaminated phytoplankton, 14C-p,p′-DDT labeled Thalassiosira weisflogii, was measured. At "normal" densities, ≈ 60 μg C/L, the copepod retained 60–70% of the DDT ingested following gut egestion, but under "bloom" conditions, ≈ 600 μg C/L, retained as little as 10%. These results enable us to incorporate feeding and generation transfer terms into an earlier model of DDT flux between seawater and planktonic crustaceans. Model simulations indicate that it is not necessary to invoke direct uptake from seawater to arrive at published levels of ΣDDT in copepods, even when our lowest experimental DDT feeding efficiencies are used. We predict that the potential for rapidly developing Calanus to accumulate DDT from generation to generation will reach an equilibrium concentration after 12 generations but that an alternating equilibrium of generations will occur within four generations in a two-season temperature environment.Key words: p,p′-DDT, uptake, clearance, feeding, assimilation, copepods, Calanus finmarchicus

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