Ecological significance of individual variability in copepod bioenergetics
Bämstedt, U. (1988). Ecological significance of individual variability in copepod bioenergetics, in: Boxshall, G.A. et al. Biology of copepods: Proceedings of the third international conference on Copepoda. Developments in Hydrobiology, 47: pp. 43-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3103-9_5 In: Boxshall, G.A.; Schminke, H.K. (Ed.) (1988). Biology of copepods: Proceedings of the third international conference on Copepoda. Developments in Hydrobiology, 47. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht/Boston/London. ISBN 978-94-010-7895-5; e-ISBN 978-94-009-3103-9. XII, 639 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3103-9, more In: Dumont, H.J. (Ed.) Developments in Hydrobiology. Kluwer Academic/Springer: The Hague; London; Boston; Dordrecht. ISSN 0167-8418, more |
Keywords | Behaviour > Feeding behaviour > Grazing Bioenergetics Chemical compounds > Organic compounds > Lipids Chemical compounds > Organic compounds > Proteins Reproduction Respiration Copepoda [WoRMS] Marine/Coastal | Author keywords | |
Abstract | High interstage variability in body length and mass, reproductive state, and metabolic activity is characteristic of copepod populations from the Barents Sea and coastal waters in Sweden and Norway. The dry weight of a given copepodite stage, sampled at a given time from a homogeneous water mass, may vary by a factor of 4—5 between extreme individuals, protein and particularly lipid content being even more variable. Similarly, high variability in gut fullness and grazing rate within defined copepodite stages typically occurs at all limes of the year, both when measured as in situ rate or experimentally determined rate, using homogeneous food suspensions. In accordance with this, maturation state (measured as length of gonads) and spawning (measured as rate of egg production over 24 h) arc highly variable factors at the individual level. Since all these factors also influence the metabolic rate of the animals the respiratory- rate (measured as ETS activity) of comparable individuals may vary by a factor of 5 or more. The results indicate that high individual variability in size and activity parameters is universal. This can not be explained by existing models of feeding behaviour, growth and development, and calls for new models, in which the nutritional history of the individual may play an important role. |
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