Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species
Marine copepods of the genus Pseudocalanus (Calanoida) are common in Svalbard waters as well as throughout the northern hemisphere. They contribute considerably to plankton biomass in addition to Calanus spp. and play an important role in the marine food web as a link between planktivores, such as f...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Master Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Universitetet i Tromsø
2008
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/1656 |
id |
ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/1656 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/1656 2024-06-02T08:13:33+00:00 Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species Gudmundsdottir, Ragnhildur 2008-11-05 1485854 bytes 2075 bytes application/pdf text/plain https://hdl.handle.net/10037/1656 eng eng Universitetet i Tromsø University of Tromsø https://hdl.handle.net/10037/1656 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_1432 openAccess Copyright 2008 The Author(s) VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 BIO-3950 Master thesis Mastergradsoppgave 2008 ftunivtroemsoe 2024-05-07T08:41:49Z Marine copepods of the genus Pseudocalanus (Calanoida) are common in Svalbard waters as well as throughout the northern hemisphere. They contribute considerably to plankton biomass in addition to Calanus spp. and play an important role in the marine food web as a link between planktivores, such as fish larvae, and microalgae. Pseudocalanus consists of several sibling species, and two of them, Pseudocalanus minutus and P. acuspes, are known to inhabit the Svalbard area. A third species, P. major, is listed as potentially present in this area, but has rarely been reported. As for the other members of the genus, discrimination between these species is time consuming and requires detailed microscopy. Most studies thus lump them into Pseudocalanus spp., ignoring differences in life history strategies and behaviour. In the current master’s project, a molecular species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed, using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) to aid morphological and morphometrical discrimination. The DNA sequence variation confirmed the presence of both species in Svalbard waters. The statistical comparison of morphological identification with the PCR results gave ambiguous results: a Chi-square test yielded a significant difference between the groups, but with low power due to a low sample size. However, this indicates that microscopic species determination may be wrong. Moreover, morphometrical analysis revealed deviations from expected length ratios in both species, and the PCR sometimes failed to produce results. This may suggest the presence of a third species, presumably P. major, for which no molecular information is available. Master Thesis Pseudocalanus minutus Svalbard Copepods University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Svalbard |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 BIO-3950 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 BIO-3950 Gudmundsdottir, Ragnhildur Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 BIO-3950 |
description |
Marine copepods of the genus Pseudocalanus (Calanoida) are common in Svalbard waters as well as throughout the northern hemisphere. They contribute considerably to plankton biomass in addition to Calanus spp. and play an important role in the marine food web as a link between planktivores, such as fish larvae, and microalgae. Pseudocalanus consists of several sibling species, and two of them, Pseudocalanus minutus and P. acuspes, are known to inhabit the Svalbard area. A third species, P. major, is listed as potentially present in this area, but has rarely been reported. As for the other members of the genus, discrimination between these species is time consuming and requires detailed microscopy. Most studies thus lump them into Pseudocalanus spp., ignoring differences in life history strategies and behaviour. In the current master’s project, a molecular species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed, using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) to aid morphological and morphometrical discrimination. The DNA sequence variation confirmed the presence of both species in Svalbard waters. The statistical comparison of morphological identification with the PCR results gave ambiguous results: a Chi-square test yielded a significant difference between the groups, but with low power due to a low sample size. However, this indicates that microscopic species determination may be wrong. Moreover, morphometrical analysis revealed deviations from expected length ratios in both species, and the PCR sometimes failed to produce results. This may suggest the presence of a third species, presumably P. major, for which no molecular information is available. |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Gudmundsdottir, Ragnhildur |
author_facet |
Gudmundsdottir, Ragnhildur |
author_sort |
Gudmundsdottir, Ragnhildur |
title |
Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
title_short |
Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
title_full |
Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
title_fullStr |
Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pseudocalanus in Svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
title_sort |
pseudocalanus in svalbard waters : identification and distribution patterns of two sibling copepod species |
publisher |
Universitetet i Tromsø |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/1656 |
geographic |
Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard |
genre |
Pseudocalanus minutus Svalbard Copepods |
genre_facet |
Pseudocalanus minutus Svalbard Copepods |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/1656 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_1432 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2008 The Author(s) |
_version_ |
1800737101999767552 |