Effects of temperature and food availability on feeding and egg production of Calanus hyperboreus from Disko Bay, western Greenland

• Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
• Main Authors: Henriksen, Marie Vestergaard, Jung-Madsen, Signe, Nielsen, Torkel Gissel, Moller, Eva Friis, Henriksen, Karen Verstergaard, Markager, Stiig, Hansen, Benni Winding
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Zenodo 2012
• Subjects: Calanus hyperboreus; Effect of temperature; Egg production; Fecal pellet production; Arctic copepod; Disko Bay; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09421

The effects of temperature and food availability on feeding and egg production of the Arctic copepod Calanus hyperboreus were investigated in Disko Bay, western Greenland, from winter to spring 2009. The abundance of females in the near bottom layer and the egg production of C. hyperboreus prior to the spring bloom document that reproduction relies on lipid stores. The maximum in situ egg production (± SE) of 54 ± 8 eggs female−1 d−1 was recorded in mid-February at chlorophyll a concentrations below 0.1 µg l−1, whereas no egg production was observed in mid-April when the spring bloom developed. After reproduction, the females migrated to the surface layer to exploit the bloom and refill their lipid stores. In 2 laboratory experiments, initiated before and during the spring bloom, mature females were kept with and without food at 5 different temperatures ranging from 0 to 10°C and the fecal pellet and egg production were monitored. Food had a clear effect on fecal pellet production but no effect on egg production, while temperature did not have an effect on egg or fecal pellet production in any of the experiments. Analyses of carbon and lipid content of the females before and after the experiments did not reflect any effect of food or temperature in the pre-bloom experiment, whereas in the bloom experiment a clear positive effect of food was detected in female biochemical profiles. The lack of a temperature response suggests a future warmer ocean could be unfavorable for C. hyperboreus compared to smaller Calanus spp. which are reported to exploit minor temperature elevations for increased egg ­production.