Description: We investigated the effect of suspended sediments on the vital rates of the copepods Calanus finmarchicus , Pseudocalanus sp. and Metridia longa in a Greenland sub-Arctic fjord. The fjord had a gradient of suspended particulate matter (SPM) with high concentrations (〉50 mg L –1 ) in the inner fjord due to glacial melt water runoff. Laboratory experiments showed that when feeding on the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii specific ingestion rates were low at high concentrations of suspended sediment for C. finmarchicus (〉20 mg L –1 ) and Pseudocalanus sp. (〉50 mg L –1 ), while no effect was found for M. longa . For C. finmarchicus , a relatively constant fecal pellet production (FPP) and fecal pellet volume suggested ingestion of sediment, which probably led to reduction in egg production rates (EPRs) at high sediment concentrations. For Pseudocalanus sp., FPP decreased with increasing sediment concentrations, while no effect was observed on EPR. No significant difference was observed in FPP for M. longa feeding on the diatom T. weissflogii compared to the ciliate Strombidium sulcatum . The study shows that high sediment concentrations influence the capability of carbon turnover in C. finmarchicus and Pseudocalanus sp., while M. longa appears to be more tolerant to high sediment loads. Therefore, high concentrations of SPM could potentially influence the species composition of glacially influenced fjords.

Description: Experiments were carried out to test the use of algal pigments in zooplankton grazing studies with a special emphasis on estimation of food selection. The results demonstrated that pigment composition of the phytoplankton food was reflected closely in the three copepod species Centropages typicus , Temora longicornis and Acartia tonsa , as well as in their faecal pellets. The fate of the phytoplankton pigments was studied in A. tonsa fed a diatom and a cryptophyte at a low and a high prey concentration. The concentration of gut pigments generally declined rapidly within the first 5–10 min after feeding terminated. The decline in pigment concentration was faster in copepods fed high concentrations of phytoplankton and specially when fed the diatom. However, after 3h of no feeding only minor changes in gut pigment composition were found mainly in alloxanthin, chlorophyll a and diadinoxanthin. Traditional grazing experiments were carried out in parallel with pigment analysis in experiments where the copepod A. tonsa was exposed to a mixture of food organisms. The results demonstrated that the two methods gave similar results with regard to food selection and that with certain precautions, pigment analysis can be successfully used in food selection studies.

Description: Here we present a new, pan-Atlantic compilation and analysis of data on Calanus finmarchicus abundance, demography, dormancy, egg production and mortality in relation to basin-scale patterns of temperature, phytoplankton biomass, circulation and other environmental characteristics in the context of understanding factors determining the distribution and abundance of C. finmarchicus across its North Atlantic habitat. A number of themes emerge: (1) the south-to-north transport of plankton in the northeast Atlantic contrasts with north-to-south transport in the western North Atlantic, which has implications for understanding population responses of C. finmarchicus to climate forcing, (2) recruitment to the youngest copepodite stages occurs during or just after the phytoplankton bloom in the east whereas it occurs after the bloom at many western sites, with up to 3.5 months difference in recruitment timing, (3) the deep basin and gyre of the southern Norwegian Sea is the centre of production and overwintering of C. finmarchicus, upon which the surrounding waters depend, whereas, in the Labrador/Irminger Seas production mainly occurs along the margins, such that the deep basins serve as collection areas and refugia for the overwintering populations, rather than as centres of production, (4) the western North Atlantic marginal seas have an important role in sustaining high C. finmarchicus abundance on the nearby coastal shelves, (5) differences in mean temperature and chlorophyll concentration between the western and eastern North Atlantic are reflected in regional differences in female body size and egg production, (6) regional differences in functional responses of egg production rate may reflect genetic differences between western and eastern populations, (7) dormancy duration is generally shorter in the deep waters adjacent to the lower latitude western North Atlantic shelves than in the east, (8) there are differences in stage-specific daily mortality rates between eastern and western shelves and basins, but the survival trajectories for cohort development from CI to CV are similar, and (9) early life stage survival is much lower in regions where C. finmarchicus is found with its congeners, C. glacialis and/or C. hyperboreus. This compilation and analysis provides new knowledge for evaluation and parameterisation of population models of C. finmarchicus and their responses to climate change in the North Atlantic. The strengths and weaknesses of modeling approaches, including a statistical approach based on ecological niche theory and a dynamical approach based on knowledge of spatial population dynamics and life history, are discussed, as well as needs for further research.