Mesh selection of copepodite and nauplius stages of four calanoid copepod species

• Published in: Journal of Plankton Research
• Main Authors: Nichols, J.H., Thompson, A.B.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1991
• Subjects: ORIGINAL ARTICLES; Pseudocalanus minutus; Copepods
• Online Access: http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/13/3/661; https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/13.3.661

High-speed plankton nets, using mesh sizes of 61, 90, 124,190 and 270 µn, were deployed in the North Sea to catch Calanus spp., Pseudocalanus minutus , Paracalanus parvus and Temora longicomis . These species were identified to their nauplii, copepodite and adult stages, and the numbers caught in each stage were converted to numbers m−3 seawater filtered. The width and length of a representative sample of each stage was measured, and the proportion caught by the different mesh sizes is presented. The selection pattern was described by a mathematical model, which showed that a mesh size of 75% of the copepod carapace width catches ∼95% of the individuals of that size present in the seawater. Some recommendations for mesh sizes required to sample copepods are given.