| Summary: | Symposium GLOBEC-IMBER España celebrado del 28-30 marzo de 2007 en Valencia.-- 2 pages The marine copepod Calanus helgolandicus is of considerable importance in the marine food web. It plays a critical role in marine ecosystems as a grazer of microplankton and as a major food source for commercially important fish. The distribution of C. helgolandicus in European waters covers a wide range of habitats, from open ocean to coastal environments. Recent studies [Reid et al., 2003; Bonnet et al., 2005] have shown that C. helgolandicus is sensitive to changes in climate, particularly along the European shelf of the northeast Atlantic. On the fringes of its distribution the range and abundance of C. helgolandicus has increased as water in the North Atlantic has warmed over recent decades. Building on the network of laboratories created by Bonnet et al. for their review on C. helgolandicus(2005), we collected samples in 95% ethanol from 19 European sites. From several individuals at each site a region of the mitochondrial large subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was amplified and sequenced. Significant genetic differences have been identified for the first time between and within basins (Northern Fjords, Northeast Atlantic, West and East Mediterranean, and Black Sea) as well as a decrease of prosome length with the latitude. Our study provides a molecular evaluation of the intra-specific structuring in this key species in relation to variation in morphological characters. REFERENCES D. Bonnet, A. Richardson, R. Harris, A. Hirst, G. Beaugrand, M. Edwards, S. Ceballos, R. Diekman, A. Lopez-Urrutia, L. Valdes, F. Carlotti, J.C. Molinero, H. Weikert, W. Greve, D. Lucic, A. Albaina, Daly N. Yahia, S. Fonda Umani, A. Miranda, A. Dos Santos, K. Cook, S. Robinson and M.L. Fernandez Puelles, 2005. An overview of Calanus helgolandicus ecology in European waters. Prog. Oceanogr., 65, 1-53. P.C. Reid, M. Edwards, G. Beaugrand, M. Skogen and D. Stevens, 2003. Periodic changes in the zooplankton of the North Sea during the ...
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