The importance of temperature and lipid accumulation for initiation and duration of Calanus hyperboreus spawning

Large, lipid-storing copepods play a central role in marine Arctic ecosystems. Knowledge of the mechanisms that control their oogenesis is important for understanding their phenology and population dynamics. We investigated the impact of female lipid content on the timing and cumulative egg production (EP) of Calanus hyperboreus at 0, 3 and 6°C. The lipid content of females in early autumn was a good predictor of their EP potential. However, we saw no indication of a threshold in lipid content for initiation of spawning. Higher temperature resulted in 17 and 24 days earlier spawning at 3 and 6°C compared with 0°C, and the mean spawning duration was 8 and 30 days shorter, respectively. This illustrates that temperature affects the phenology of C. hyperboreus. When EP began, lipid metabolism increased 2–4 times. The females allocated 1.3 μg lipid per egg independent of temperature. However, the basic metabolism increased with increasing temperature; consequently, a smaller fraction of lipid was allocated for EP when the temperature increased.

Contrasting assemblages of seabirds in the subglacial meltwater plume and oceanic water of Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland

In Greenland, tidewater glaciers discharge turbid subglacial freshwater into fjords, forming plumes near the calving fronts, and these areas serve as an important foraging habitat for seabirds. To investigate the effect of subglacial discharge on the foraging assemblages of surface feeders and divers in a glacial fjord, we conducted boat-based seabird surveys, near-surface zooplankton samplings, and hydrographic measurements at Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland in July. Foraging surface feeders (black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus, and northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis) aggregated within a plume-affected area in front of Bowdoin Glacier. This area was characterized by highly turbid subglacial meltwater and abundant large-sized zooplankton including Calanus hyperboreus, chaetognaths, and ctenophores near the surface. Surface feeders fed on these aggregated prey presumably transported to the surface by strong upwelling of subglacial meltwater. In contrast, divers (little auk Alle alle, thick-billed murre Uria lomvia, and black guillemot Cepphus grylle) foraged outside the fjord, where turbidity was low and jellyfish and Calanus copepods dominated under the influence of Atlantic water. Our study indicates spatial segregation between surface feeders and divers in a glacial fjord; surface feeders are not hindered by turbidity if taking prey at the surface, whereas divers need clear water.

The intriguing co-distribution of the copepods Calanus hyperboreus and Calanus glacialis in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum of Arctic seas

Studying the distribution of zooplankton in relation to their prey and predators is challenging, especially in situ. Recent developments in underwater imaging enable such fine-scale research. We deployed the Lightframe On-sight Keyspecies Investigation (LOKI) image profiler to study the fine-scale (1 m) vertical distribution of the copepods Calanus hyperboreus and C. glacialis in relation to the subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) at the end of the grazing season in August in the North Water and Nares Strait (Canadian Arctic). The vertical distribution of both species was generally consistent with the predictions of the Predator Avoidance Hypothesis. In the absence of a significant SCM, both copepods remained at depth during the night. In the presence of a significant SCM, copepods remained at depth in daytime and a fraction of the population migrated in the SCM at night. All three profiles where the numerically dominant copepodite stages C4 and C5 of the two species grazed in the SCM at night presented the same intriguing pattern: the abundance of C. hyperboreus peaked in the core of the SCM while that of C. glacialis peaked just above and below the core SCM. These distributions of the same-stage congeners in the SCMs were significantly different. Lipid fullness of copepod individuals was significantly higher in C. hyperboreus in the core SCM than in C. glacialis above and below the core SCM. Foraging interference resulting in the exclusion from the core SCM of the smaller C. glacialis by the larger C. hyperboreus could explain this vertical partitioning of the actively grazing copepodite stages of the two species. Alternatively, specific preferences for microalgal and/or microzooplankton food hypothetically occupying different layers in the SCM could explain the observed partitioning. Investigating the observed fine-scale co-distributions further will enable researchers to better predict potential climate change effects on these important Arctic congeners.