Copepod hatching success in marine ecosystems with high diatom concentrations

Xabier Irigoien (), Roger P. Harris, Hans M. Verheye, Pierre Joly, Jeffrey Runge, Michel Starr, David Pond, Robert Campbell, Rachael Shreeve, Peter Ward, Amy N. Smith, Hans G. Dam, William Peterson, Valentina Tirelli, Marja Koski, Tania Smith, Derek Harbour and Russell Davidson
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Xabier Irigoien: AZTI- Arrantza eta Elikaigintzarako Institutu Teknologikoa, Herrera Kaia portualdea z/g
Roger P. Harris: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place
Hans M. Verheye: Marine & Coastal Management
Pierre Joly: Institut Maurice Lamontagne
Jeffrey Runge: Institut Maurice Lamontagne
Michel Starr: Institut Maurice Lamontagne
David Pond: British Antarctic Survey
Robert Campbell: University of Victoria
Rachael Shreeve: British Antarctic Survey
Peter Ward: British Antarctic Survey
Amy N. Smith: University of Connecticut
Hans G. Dam: University of Connecticut
William Peterson: National Marine Fisheries Service
Valentina Tirelli: Department of Biology-University of Trieste and LBM
Marja Koski: Netherlands Institute of Sea Research
Tania Smith: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place
Derek Harbour: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place
Russell Davidson: Southampton Oceanography Centre

Nature, 2002, vol. 419, issue 6905, 387-389

Abstract: Abstract Diatoms dominate spring bloom phytoplankton assemblages in temperate waters and coastal upwelling regions of the global ocean. Copepods usually dominate the zooplankton in these regions and are the prey of many larval fish species. Recent laboratory studies suggest that diatoms may have a deleterious effect on the success of copepod egg hatching1,2,3,4. These findings challenge the classical view of marine food-web energy flow from diatoms to fish by means of copepods5,6,7. Egg mortality is an important factor in copepod population dynamics8, thus, if diatoms have a deleterious in situ effect, paradoxically, high diatom abundance could limit secondary production. Therefore, the current understanding of energy transfer from primary production to fisheries in some of the most productive and economically important marine ecosystems9 may be seriously flawed1,10. Here we present in situ estimates of copepod egg hatching success from twelve globally distributed areas, where diatoms dominate the phytoplankton assemblage. We did not observe a negative relationship between copepod egg hatching success and either diatom biomass or dominance in the microplankton in any of these regions. The classical model for diatom-dominated system remains valid.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1038/nature01055

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