Zooplankton Feeding Ecology: Contents of Fecal Pellets of the Copepod Anomalocera ornata from Continental Shelf and Slope Waters of the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract. The diet of the copepod Anomalocera ornata was examined by comparing contents of fecal pellets produced on natural diets with assemblages of available phytoplankton. Samples were collected in continental shelf and slope waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. A wide size and taxonomic array of phytoplankters was ingested, and remains of phytoplankton taxa in fecal pellets reflected the composition of phytoplankton assemblages in the water. Absence of crustacean remains in fecal pellets suggests that A. ornata feeds primarily as an opportunistic grazer.     

Zooplankton Feeding Ecology: Contents of Fecal Pellets of the Copepods Acartia tonsa and Labidocera aestiva from Continental Shelf Waters Near the Mouth of the Mississippi River

Abstract. Feeding habits of adult female Acartia tonsa and Labidocera aestiva and L. aestiva CV copepodites were examined by comparing fecal pellet contents and available phytoplankton. Samples were collected from eight stations in the northern Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Fecal pellets of both copepods contained remains of a wide variety of chain-forming and solitary phytoplankters of various sizes, as well as remains of other crustaceans. Contents of fecal pellets generally mirrored the composition and relative abundance of fluctuating assemblages of available natural phytoplankton. Both species fed upon a wide size range of cells, from solitary centric diatoms of 2–8 um diameter up to large solitary centrics of 33–53 urn diameter. Both copepods also ingested the elongate solitary pennate diatom Thalassiothrix sp. (264–330 urn long) and chain-forming diatoms such as Skeletonema costatum. Remains of large or chain-forming diatoms and crustaceans were more dominant in fecal pellets of L. aestiva. This suggests that L. aestiva is primarily a raptorial feeder, grasping larger particles while A. tonsa is a more typical suspension feeder. Both copepods are opportunistic omnivores, however, and there is considerable overlap in their diets.     

Zooplankton Feeding Ecology: Contents of Fecal Pellets of the Copepod Undinula vulgaris from Continental Shelf Waters of the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract. The in situ diet of the copepod Undinula vulgaris was examined by comparing contents of fecal pellets produced on natural food with assemblages of available phytoplankton. Samples were collected in continental shelf waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. U. vulgaris was an indiscrimi-nant suspension feeder, ingesting a broad size, shape, and taxonomic array of phytoplankters. Contents of fecal pellets generally matched those of available phytoplankton assemblages. The presence within the same fecal pellets of remains of microplankters ranging over two orders of magnitude in longest dimension suggests that feeding is nonselective, and that U. vulgaris may rapidly switch between several modes of feeding.     

莱州湾夏季浮游桡足类的摄食研究

于１９９７年７月有（１９－２４日）和小湖（２６－３０日）期间在莱州湾对不同大小桡足类自然群体（大型：〉５００ｍｍ,小型：２００－５００ｍｍ）的分布及肠道色素含量进行了现场测定,并在一个４８ｈ连续观测站（Ａ４）进行了肠道排空率和摄食节律实验。结果表明,浮动物肠道色素含量随个体的增大而增加,大型桡足类存在着一定的昼夜摄食节律,摄食高峰出现在夜间,小型桡足类摄食切律不明显。Ａ４站测得的桡足类摄食结果表明     

Behaviour of Cyclopoid, Harpacticoid, and Calanoid Copepods from Coastal Waters of Taiwan

Abstract. Cinematographic techniques were used to compare behaviour patterns of three cyclopoid, one harpacticoid, and two calanoid species of copepods from coastal waters of Taiwan. Behaviour was quantified in terms of allocation of time to swimming versus non-swimming behaviour, and behavioural transitions/minute. The different species of copepods exhibited different patterns of behaviour. Oithona nana and O. similis had long periods of inactivity punctuated by comparatively few transitions to intermittent leaps of motion. Oncaea venusta had a more jerky pattern of numerous small hops with frequent transitions between motion and rest. Macrosetella gracilis spent more time swimming than did the cyclopoids, but with fewer behavioural transitions than O. venusta , more like the Oithona species. Temora turbinala swam virtually continuously and transitions to non-swimming were rare. Undinula vulgaris var. taiwanicus frequently alternated between upward motion and sinking at rest, making a feeding current about a fourth of the time. There was considerable intraspecific variability between individual animals, but for reasons of experimental design, it was impossible to statistically test the significance of this variation. Differences in behaviour patterns between the different species are discussed within the context of what is known about the feeding ecology of these species from previous investigations.     

Loss Processes of Sinking Fecal Pellets of Zooplankton in the Mesopelagic Layers of the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone

A time-series sediment trap deployment was carried out in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the Antarctic Ocean (64°42′ S, 139°58′E; sea depth of 2930 m), during the austral summer. Cylindrical fecal pellets were the predominant sinking particles at 537 m in the middle of January and most of them disappeared below that depth, the loss of which were 25.3 mg C m⁻² day⁻¹ in the depth range of 537–796 m. Small-sized sinking particles other than fecal pellets increased in that depth range. Analyses of fecal pellets for remnant DNA corresponding to 16S mitochondrial RNA and 28S ribosomal RNA suggested that the large cylindrical fecal pellets at 537 m were produced by Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and copepods. According to the presence of the DNA associated with sinking particles, E. superba fecal pellets rapidly disappeared below 537 m, while copepod fecal pellets still remained in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic layers. Small-sized amorphous sinking particles at 537 m also contained E. superba- and copepod-derived DNA. The abundance of trap-collected copepods (Oithona spp. and Oncaea spp.) which are known to be coprophagous increased at 796 m where many fecal pellets disappeared. We suggest that those rapidly sinking pellets were fragmented by copepods with intensified coprorhexy activity (fragmentation of fecal pellets) in the mesopelagic layers, reducing their sinking rates. These smaller and slower sinking particles can be important food sources for detritivorus or coprophagous animals in mesopelagic and bathypelagic layers in the MIZ. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of the copepod community structure on fecal pellet flux in Kagoshima bay,a deep,semi-enclosed embayment

Seasonal changes in the shape and size composition of fecal pellets were investigated with sediment trap samples from 50 and 150 m in Kagoshima Bay to evaluate how the mesozooplankton community affects fecal pellet flux. Deep vertical mixing was evident in March, and thermal stratification was developed above 50 m in June, August and November. Chlorophyll a, suspended particulate organic carbon (POC) and copepod abundance were uniform throughout the water column during the seasonal mixing and concentrated above 50 m in the stratified seasons. Calanoids were the most predominant copepods in March and poecilostomatoids composed more than 45% of the copepod community in June, August and November. Fecal pellet fluxes at 50 and 150 m were the highest in March, nearly half of POC flux. The relative contribution declined considerably in the other months, especially for less than 4% of POC flux in August. The decline was corresponded to the predominance of cyclopoids and poecilostomatoids. Cylindrical pellets dominated the fecal matters at both depths throughout the study period, while larger cylindrical pellets nearly disappeared at 150 m in June, August and November. Copepod incubation revealed that cylindrical and oval pellets were egested by calanoids and the other copepods, respectively. We suggest that cylindrical fecal pellets produced by calanoid copepods contribute to feces flux but the predominance of poecilostomatoids and/or cyclopoids decreases feces flux via the increase of oval pellets and fragmentation of larger cylindrical pellets.     

Abundance, distribution and patch formation of zooplankton

The goal of studies described here was to determine the responses of zooplankton taxa to phytoplankton patches which develop in and near intrusions of cold, nutrient-rich Gulf Stream water. To achieve this goal we determined the horizontal and vertical distributions of abundant mesozooplankton taxa on the south-eastern continental shelf of the USA between 29°30′ and 31°N. The study period was from June 23 to August 16, 1981. Highest concentrations of zooplankton usually occurred in and near patches of phytoplankton. Increased phytoplankton appeared to trigger the formation of patches of the calanoid copepod Temora turbinata and the cyclopoid copepods Oithona spp. and Oncaea spp. The patches of zooplankton had greater alongshore than cross-shelf dimensions. T. turbinata responded rapidly to increased concentrations of phytoplankton by reproducing and aggregating in and above intruded waters. Oithonidae which were often, but not always, abundant in phytoplankton patches eventually attained high concentrations over most of the middle and part of the inner shelf. Their concentration and that of Oncaeidae increased steadily. Oncaeidae were not abundant in recently upwelled waters, as was T. turbinata but reached high concentrations in older intrusions when the abundance of T. turbinata remained level or decreased slowly. Both cyclopoid taxa are thought to reproduce slowly (egg sacs) compared to T. turbinata. Another taxon, the doliolids, became abundant far more rapidly in intruded waters (by asexual reproduction) than did the other three taxa. Doliolids were the most opportunistic intrusion zooplankton form. They do not regularly occur in low abundance on the shelf, as do the three copepod taxa, but develop in pulses in regions where T. turbinata and Oncaea are not abundant. Of the four taxa studied the abundance of doliolids increased and decreased most rapidly, whereas Oithona and Oncaea increased slowly and did not decrease during the study period. T. turbinata and Oncaea were most abundant at 60% of all stations in the intruding water. Doliolids and Oithona on the other hand, were mostly in the thermocline and intrusion. Whereas phytoplankton patches, which developed in intrusions, were physically induced (PAFFENHÖFER and LEE, 1988), patches of zooplankton were biologically induced.     

Feeding activity of the copepod Acartia hongi on phytoplankton and micro-zooplankton in Gyeonggi Bay,Yellow Sea

To improve our understanding of the trophic link between micro-zooplankton and copepods in Gyeonggi Bay, Yellow Sea, the diet composition, ingestion rates, and prey selectivity of Acartia hongi, known as the most abundant and widespread copepod species, was estimated by conducting in situ bottle incubation throughout the different seasons. The results showed that A. hongi preferentially grazed on ciliate and heterotrophic dinoflagellate of a size ranging from 20 to 100 μm rather than phytoplankton. Although micro-zooplankton comprised only an average 13.7% of the total carbon available in the natural prey pool, micro-zooplankton accounted for >70% of the total carbon ration ingested by A. hongi throughout the year, except for winter diatom blooming periods when A. hongi obtained about 60% of its carbon ration from phytoplankton. Our results demonstrated that A. hongi modified their diet composition and feeding rates in response to change in composition and size of prey available to them, and that A. hongi preferentially ingested micro-zooplankton over phytoplankton. Feeding activity of A. hongi could therefore affect the species composition and size structure of natural plankton communities in this study area, particularly the micro-zooplankton. Strongly selective feeding and high grazing pressure by A. hongi on micro-zooplankton shows the role of trophic coupling between copepods and the microbial food web in the pelagic ecosystem of Gyeonggi Bay.     

Factors affecting the elimination of PCBs in the marine copepod Acartia tonsa

The effects of feeding, egg laying, and fecal pellet production on the elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the marine copepod Acartia tonsa were studied in a series of experiments. Copepods were exposed to ¹⁴C-labelled Aroclor 1254 and allowed to depurate in clean seawater. Copepods fed during depuration eliminated PCBs more rapidly than unfed copepods whether or not the original PCB exposure medium had contained food. Both eggs and fecal pellets contained PCBs during depuration, with the weight specific concentration of PCB in the eggs (up to 407 ppm, dry weight) exceeding four times that in the females that produced them. Female copepods eliminated PCBs twice as rapidly as males, indicating that egg production is an important route for PCB elimination.     

Zooplankton Grazing during Dinoflagel-late Blooms in a Cape Cod Embayment, with Observations of Predation upon Tin-tinnids by Copepods

Abstract. The patterns and rates of feeding by the copepod Acartia hudsonica and larvae of the polychaete Polydora sp. were investigated during the spring in an estuarine embayment. These dominant macrozooplankters fed upon the natural particulate assemblages (predominantly dino-flagellates) spiked with the toxic dinoflagellate Gonyaulax tamarensis. G. tamarensis was ingested by both zooplankters, as was Heterocapsa triquetra , the most abundant alternative food item. Ingestion rates generally increased as dinoflagellate concentrations increased, resulting in a relatively constant (and low) filtration rate for each grazer. Dinophysis acuminata , another dominant dinoflagellate, was essentially ungrazed. Thus, the zooplankters did not ingest one dinoflagellate and consumed others in proportion to their availability but at low rates. Based on these low rates and the small number of A. hudsonica observed during the spring, we infer minima! grazing impact on a 1980 G. tamarensis bloom. In contrast, the impact of polychaete larvae may have been substantial, since their extreme numerical abundance more than compensated for low filtration rates.
In one instance, the tintinnid Eutintinnus pectinis was accidentally included in a grazing experiment. Our ingestion data demonstrate that A. hudsonica , when presented with a combination of tintinnids and several species of phytoplankton (G. tamarensis and D. acuminata) ingested the tintinnids at high rates, in proportion to their high abundance. Since the nanoflagellate Chroomonas amphioxea was found within the loricae of many of the surviving tintinnids, this also provided a qualitative demonstration of the often-hypothesized nanoplankton to tintinnid to copepod link in a marine food chain.     

Copepod feeding in a coastal area of active tidal mixing: diel and monthly variations of grazing impacts on phytoplankton biomass

This study examined monthly feeding rates and grazing impact on phytoplankton biomass, as well as diel feeding rhythms of four key copepod species in a tidally well mixed estuary (Asan Bay, Korean Peninsula). Monthly ingestion rates estimated based on gut pigment analysis were closely associated with their peak densities, but not with phytoplankton biomass, implying high ingestion may be related to reproductive output for population growth. The three smaller copepods, Acartia hongi, Acartia pacifica and Paracalanus parvus, showed feeding preference for smaller phytoplankton (<20 μm) with higher clearance rates, whereas the larger Calanus sinicus preferred larger phytoplankton. Acartia pacifica and P. parvus showed distinct increased nocturnal feeding rates as measured with gut fluorescence, whereas A. hongi showed no significant day–night differences. Copepod diel feeding patterns were not associated with food quantity, and endogenous physiological rhythm might be hypothesized as responsible for the observed diel feeding patterns. Grazing impact on phytoplankton biomass by the four copepods in the estuary was on average 8% (range 0.2–29.8%) of the phytoplankton standing stock, similar to values reported in other coastal waters. Very high copepod abundances but low daily carbon ration (<20% for all copepods) provided by feeding on phytoplankton indicate that copepods also grazed on other non‐phytoplankton foods in Asan Bay.     

Feeding,egg production,and respiration rate of pteropods <Emphasis Type="Italic">Limacina</Emphasis> in Arctic seas

The feeding, egg production, and respiration rate of the dominant pteropod Limacina helicina have been studied in Russia’s Arctic seas. The sinking rates of fecal pellets and dead individuals have been measured to estimate their role in vertical carbon flux. As has been shown, the rate of ecophysiological processes taking place in the pteropods is higher than that of copepods, the main consumers of phytoplankton. The gut pigment content in Limacina (3084 ng ind^–1 as a maximum) was two orders of magnitude higher than in copepods. The egg production rate in Limacina even without feeding reached 4000 eggs ind^–1 versus 350–450 egg ind^–1 typical of the dominant copepods even with excess food. A close correlation between the pteropod feeding rate and individual body weight was observed for Limacina rather than a correlation with food concentration. The experimentally estimated sinking rate of Limacina fecal pellets was 270 m day^–1, higher than for most copepods. The sinking rate of dead pteropods reaches 2000 m day^–1. According to the literature, discarded mucous feeding nets sink at a rate of 80 to 1080 m day^–1. Evidently, pteropods play a significant role in biogeochemical cycles by accelerating sedimentation. High rates of all studied processes suggest that Limacina are an important component of plankton communities and play the most important role in trophodynamics at sites of their accumulation.     

基于COⅠ基因序列的长腹剑水蚤系统进化关系

长腹剑水蚤属（Oithona）是广泛分布于海洋近岸和外海海域的中小型桡足类中最为丰富的类群之一，由于个体小且形态差异微小，通过传统的形态学分类法对其进行准确鉴定难度较大。本文对南海分布的长腹剑水蚤属内的5个种，即瘦长腹剑水蚤（O.tenuis）、羽长腹剑水蚤（O.plumifera）、刺长腹剑水蚤（O.setigera）、伪长腹剑水蚤（O.fallax）和长刺长腹剑水蚤（O.longispina）线粒体COⅠ基因序列以及DNA数据库中长腹剑水蚤属其他地区种类COⅠ基因序列进行比较分析，使用ABGD （Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery）和GMYC （Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent）模型进行物种界定，分析种间种内遗传距离，并构建系统进化关系。结果显示ABGD和GMYC模型均可以很好地对长腹剑水蚤进行种类划分；种内遗传距离为0.0%~1.6%，种间遗传距离为17.7%~44.5%（Kimura 2-parameter双参数模型），表明种间出现较高的分化；贝叶斯系统树和最大似然树进化树结果均表明，简长腹剑水蚤（O.simplex）与其他种类相距较远，羽长腹剑水蚤和拟长腹剑水蚤（O.similis）中存在隐种的分化，分别是我国南海海域和地中海的羽长腹剑水蚤以及朝鲜海峡和北海的拟长腹剑水蚤，种间遗传距离分别为18.6%、22.9%。     

Diet of sardine Sardinops sagax in the southern Benguela upwelling ecosystem

The diet of sardine Sardinops sagax in the southern Benguela was investigated by microscopic examination of stomach contents. The relative dietary importance of prey size and prey type was assessed by calculating the carbon content of prey items. Sardine is an omnivorous clupeoid, ingesting both phytoplankton and zooplankton, with the relative importance of these two food types varying both spatially and temporally. Stomach contents were numerically dominated by small prey items, principally dinoflagellates, followed by crustacean eggs, cyclopoid copepods, calanoid copepods and diatoms. Virtually all prey items ingested by sardine were <1.2 mm maximum dimension, the particle size below which sardine only filter-feed. Despite the numerical dominance by phytoplankton, zooplankton contributed the major portion to sardine dietary carbon, small calanoid and cyclopoid copepods, anchovy eggs and crustacean eggs being the primary prey types. These results indicate that, like anchovy Engraulis capensis, sardine in the southern Benguela are primarily zoophagous, and contrast with earlier dietary studies on sardine in the region. However, the two species appear to partition their prey on the basis of size; sardine consume small zooplankton, whereas anchovy consume large zooplankton. This difference has been observed in other upwelling ecosystems where the two genera co-exist and is likely to contribute to the regime shifts observed between sardine and anchovy.     

Feeding of copepods on natural suspended particles in Tokyo Bay

Community grazing rates of copepods were estimated from data taken during three cruises in Tokyo Bay, based on bottle incubations and a temporal variation of gut fluorescence. Special attention was paid to the feeding selectivity in the estimations. Differential grazing was observed in the copepod communities:Acartia omorii, abundant in February, selectively fed on the particles of dominant size classes, whileOithona davisae, dominant throughout the year, andCentropages abdominalis selected large particles (>20µm). The maximum filtering rates on certain size classes were several times the average. In addition, a 34-hr investigation of the gut fluorescence of copepods revealed nocturnal feeding inParacalanus spp.,Pseudodiaptomus marinus andOithona davisae.Copepod communities collected with a net (95-µm mesh opening) were estimated to graze, in February 3.0%, in August 3.1–4.5% and in November 4.2–11.9% of the standing crops of phytoplankton or suspended particles per day.     

The downward flux of biogenic material in the NE subarctic Pacific: importance of algal sinking and mesozooplankton herbivory

In the present study we examine factors that affect the downward flux of biogenic carbon in the NE subarctic Pacific, one of the important high-nutrient-low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions in the open ocean. We focus on the role of mesozooplankton, since their seasonal peaks in biomass and growth are in phase with the seasonal variations in the downward POC fluxes, whereas phytoplankton biomass is more-or-less uniform year-round. The relative importance of mesozooplankton and algal sinking was examined using the pigment composition of material accumulated in short-term free-drifting sediment traps positioned just below the upper stratified surface layer (ca. 100–200 m). This was compared with the phytoplankton composition in the surface waters, and with the grazing activity (gut pigments and fecal pellet production rates) of the most abundant large copepods. We also examined whether the relationships between the downward flux of carbon and pelagic processes were similar in the coastal, continental margin and offshore HNLC regions of the NE subarctic Pacific, the latter represented by Ocean Station Papa (OSP).Our results show that grazing had a variable impact on the downward flux of biogenic carbon. Carbon-transformed pheopigments (particularly pyropheophorbide a, frequently associated with copepod grazing) represented up to 13% of the total downward POC flux inshore (in May 1996) and 8–9% at OSP in May and February 1996, respectively. This flux of pheopigments was accompanied by a large potential input of fecal pellets from large copepods (as estimated from defecation rates of freshly collected animals) only in May 1996 at OSP, suggesting that pheopigments came from other sources (other herbivores, senescing algae) in February. The larger flux of pheopigments in May was probably related to the abundance of mesozooplankton at that time of the year. During summer (August 1996), both the flux of pheopigments and the potential input of fecal pellets from large copepods were negligible at OSP, consistent with more intense pelagic recycling reported in other studies. Inshore, the flux of carbon-transformed pheopigments was slightly higher than at OSP, and its contribution to the downward POC flux in May 1996 was twice that in August 1996. In contrast, the potential input of feces carbon was higher in August than in May 1996, again suggesting other sources for pheopigments found in the traps. The contribution of sinking phytoplankton to the downward biogenic flux was negligible in summer, when prymnesiophytes (indicated by the presence of 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin) and pelagophytes (19′-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin-containing) dominated in surface offshore waters. The contribution of sinking algae was maximal (9%) in winter (February 1996) at OSP, when fucoxanthin (mainly a diatom marker) dominated the carotenoid composition in the traps and when the abundance of diatoms in surface waters showed its seasonal maximum for this station. Inshore, the low contribution of diatoms (fucoxanthin) to the sinking fluxes may have resulted from inadequate sampling (i.e. the spring bloom may have been missed).Overall, we conclude that: (a) large copepods significantly influenced the downward POC flux only during spring at OSP; (b) unidentified herbivores (e.g. salps, pteropods) producing pigmented, fast-sinking fecal material likely had an important impact during winter; (c) algal sinking made a small contribution to the downward POC flux (maximum in winter); and (d) neither algal sinking nor mesozooplankton grazing had a significant influence on the downward flux of biogenic material in summer at OSP.     

Zooplankton dynamics in the northern Benguela ecosystem,with special reference to the copepod Calanoides carinatus

Main features of the zooplankton distribution and the ecological characteristics of the dominant species in the northern Benguela during different phases of upwelling are discussed. The composition of the zooplankton between 17 and 27°S was similar each year. Among the 20°30 most abundant species, 3°4 copepods dominated, influencing the distribution of total zooplankton biomass. During quiescent upwelling, zooplankton abundance was low and there were no significant differences in the inshore-offshore distribution of zooplankton biomass, the maximum occurring over the slope. During active upwelling, zooplankton biomass increased significantly, the maximum over the shelf being constituted almost entirely of developmental stages of herbivorous copepods. Over the inner shelf, all stages of the copepod Calanoides carinatus were feeding actively, removing up to 5 per cent per day of the standing stock of phytoplankton. Comparison of daily ration, respiration rate and biochemical composition of C. carinatus revealed active storage of energy inshore. Offshore populations of C. carinatus, found deeper than 200 m, comprised mainly copepodite stage V, which were not feeding and were characterized by decreased mobility and respiration and a high lipid content. It is estimated that the energy stored during active upwelling enables copepods to survive up to six months without any additional source of energy.     

微塑料对海洋桡足类摄食、排泄及生殖的影响

微塑料污染目前成为海洋污染普遍关注的一个研究热点。本文在实验室内将青岛近海常见的海洋桡足类猛水蚤暴露于不同浓度的微塑料尼龙6中,研究了猛水蚤的摄食、排泄以及生殖的变化。研究结果表明,微塑料尼龙6对猛水蚤的摄食、排泄、生殖均产生不利的影响,并且存在剂量-效应关系。微塑料尼龙6对猛水蚤摄食率、滤水率、排粪率的24 h·EC 50分别为67.7、62.2、84.1 mg·L^-1,对猛水蚤抱卵率的144 h·EC 50为30.3 mg·L^-1。“饱食感”造成猛水蚤摄食率降低,从而能量和营养摄入不足可能是导致猛水蚤抱卵率降低的原因。猛水蚤对微塑料的摄食,导致猛水蚤排泄的粪便颗粒小型化,由长椭球体变为短小椭球体,可能与其粘度或物理结构的改变有关。暴露于尼龙6的猛水蚤的粪便体积和沉降速率显著低于未暴露微塑料的对照组。本实验结果对于研究微塑料对海洋桡足类以及滤食性浮游动物的生态毒理影响具有一定的帮助。     

Mesozooplankton dynamics in the Benguela ecosystem,with emphasis on the herbivorous copepods

Recent research developments on the ecology, dynamics and trophic position of copepods in the Benguela ecosystem are synthesized. Attention is focused on herbivorous species of the southern Benguela and how they cope with the physical and biological variability characteristic of this upwelling region. Copepods constitute on average approximately half of the total zooplankton carbon and. are most abundant during the upwelling season. They are able to maintain large population densities within local coastal upwelling areas by combining ontogenetically based vertical migration behaviour with features of the current system. Some species have developed finely tuned strategies to overcome periods of starvation between upwelling bouts by storing lipid reserves or by entering temporary developmental arrest. In situ measurements of production rates of local species are among the highest recorded for copepods. Despite an apparent excess of food, copepods exert only limited impact on the phytoplankton, removing on average <25 per cent of that available daily. Indirect estimates of carbon flux indicate that 11–25 per cent of copepod daily ration is used for egestion of faecal pellets. Copepods are the preferred prey of a wide variety of invertebrate and vertebrate predators. Large copepods in particular are important in the diet of commercially exploited pelagic fish. Localized areas of low abundance of copepods have been found in association with high densities of anchovy during peak spawning and recruitment periods. Copepods may therefore constitute a central limiting factor for pelagic fish production in the southern Benguela.