Feeding, Growth and Reproduction of the Marine Planktonic Copepod Pseudo-Calanus Elongatus Boeck

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe development of techniques to culture calanoid copepods over multiple generations in the laboratory has resulted in considerable advances in knowledge about a group of animals of major importance in the marine food web. A series of extensive studies have been made of two species of large calanoids, Calanus helgolandicus (Claus) (Mullin & Brooks, 1967, 1970a, 1970b; Paffenhöfer, 1970, 1971, 1976a, 1976b), and Rhincalanus nasutus Giesbrecht (Mullin & Brooks, 1967, 1970a, 1970b). Feeding, growth, and reproduction have been studied under controlled conditions, using different temperatures, food species, and food concentrations. Some of the information gained in these studies has been incorporated into a simulation model of the planktonic ecosystem of the North Sea (Steele, 1974). However, in the North Sea and in many other sea areas species of small copepod probably form an important component of the food web. Little information is available on the quantitative biology of these small copepods under controlled conditions.