Comparative ecology of the copepods Calanoides carinatus and Calanus agulhensis - the influence of temperature and food
Huggett, J.A.; Richardson, A.J.; Field, J. (2007). Comparative ecology of the copepods Calanoides carinatus and Calanus agulhensis - the influence of temperature and food. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 29(3): 473-490. https://dx.doi.org/10.2989/AJMS.2007.29.3.14.344 In: African Journal of Marine Science. NISC/Taylor & Francis: Grahamstown. ISSN 0257-7615; e-ISSN 1814-2338, more |  |
| Authors | | Top | - Huggett, J.A.
- Richardson, A.J., more
- Field, J.
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| Abstract | Hypotheses regarding temperature, food abundance and food size were tested to explore niche separation between Calanoides carinatus, an abundant copepod in the cool and food-rich southern Benguela upwelling system, and Calanus agulhensis, the dominant copepod on the warmer, relatively food-poor Agulhas Bank off the south coast of South Africa. Under non-limiting food conditions, egg production by both species increased linearly with temperatures between 9°C and 18°C. Egg production by C. carinatus was relatively faster at 21°C, but was offset by greater mortality. Both species showed similar functional responses to food concentration in the field, reaching satiation at ~15mg Chl a m-3, or ~3-4ppm. Food abundance was the most important predictor of egg production, whether measured as Chl a or as particle volume. |
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