Skip Navigation


JPR Advance Access originally published online on August 21, 2009
Journal of Plankton Research 2009 31(11):1391-1405; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbp073
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
31/11/1391    most recent
fbp073v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Diekmann, A. B. S.
Right arrow Articles by Campbell, R. W.
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Diekmann, A. B. S.
Right arrow Articles by Campbell, R. W.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Variation in diatom biochemical composition during a simulated bloom and its effect on copepod production

A. Berenike S. Diekmann1,*, Myron A. Peck1, Linda Holste1, Michael A. St John1 and Robert W. Campbell2

1 Institute of Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science, University of Hamburg, Olbersweg 24, 22767 Hamburg, Germany 2 Prince William Sound Science Center, PO Box 705, Cordova, AK 99574, USA

* CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: berenike.diekmann{at}uni-hamburg.de

Received on March 24, 2009; accepted on July 25, 2009


  Abstract

The biochemical quality of phytoplankton depends in part upon nutrient availability, which has implications for the population dynamics of grazers. Here, we examined how nutrient availability influenced the growth dynamics and biochemical content of the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii and how these biochemical changes impacted the vital rates of a calanoid copepod (Acartia tonsa). Changes in biochemistry (protein, carbohydrate and fatty acids) were compared in diatom cultures that simulated bloom conditions (B-algae) and those maintained in near exponential growth (E-algae) over the course of a 16-day experiment. Egg production rates (EPRs, eggs female–1 day–1) and the developmental success of copepodite stages of A. tonsa fed these different diets were quantified. Copepod EPR was significantly lower (reduced by half) when B-algae entered the senescent phase due to silicate limitation. In a crossover (diet switch) experiment, EPR increased when copepods fed B-algae were switched to E-algae and vice versa. Copepodites of A. tonsa developed normally and reached the adult (C6) stage when fed E-algae, but ceased development (approximately at stage C2) when reared on senescent phase B-algae. Given the importance of copepods as prey for higher trophic levels, our results highlight how nutritional changes that naturally occur during a phytoplankton bloom may influence the productivity of copepods and higher trophic levels.

Corresponding editor: Roger Harris


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.