Egg production of the copepod Acartia tonsa: The influence of hypoxia and food concentration

Low dissolved oxygen conditions, or hypoxia, occur in estuaries and impact more than just the obvious commercially important species. Copepods are an important link in the food web, and the influence of hypoxia upon them is relatively unstudied. Using the copepod Acartia tonsa, a study of the impact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology 2005-05, Vol.318 (2), p.183-190
Main Authors: Sedlacek, Chris, Marcus, Nancy H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acartia tonsa
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Brackish
Copepod
Egg production
Eutrophication
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hypoxia
Marine
Sea water ecosystems
Sub-lethal
Synecology
Zooplankton
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Summary:Low dissolved oxygen conditions, or hypoxia, occur in estuaries and impact more than just the obvious commercially important species. Copepods are an important link in the food web, and the influence of hypoxia upon them is relatively unstudied. Using the copepod Acartia tonsa, a study of the impact of hypoxia on egg production was conducted. A. tonsa had reduced egg production at low dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO), with the lowest egg production occurring at 0.53-ml/l O 2 concentration. Another experiment was conducted to determine if, by increasing food concentration, the affect of hypoxia could be mitigated. The results indicate that increased food did not offset the impact that hypoxia had on egg production of A. tonsa. These results suggest that as A. tonsa experiences hypoxia in the wild, population numbers will decrease. Thus, if hypoxic conditions increase in scope and duration, declines in copepod abundance may lead to a decline in the abundance of species that depend on them as food. These species may be of commercial importance (e.g., fish, crabs, and oysters).
ISSN:0022-0981
1879-1697
DOI:10.1016/j.jembe.2004.12.012