Abstract
Egg production and development rates of Centropages typicus (Krøyer) were studied in the laboratory under carying food and temperature conditions. Egg production rates in the laboratory ranged from 0 to 124 eggs female-1 d-1 and increased with food concentration up to a critical food concentration (Pc) above which egg production was constant. Egg production rates were influenced by temperature, with more eggs being produced at 15°C than at 10°C. Thalassiosira weisflogii and Prorocentrum micans were determined to be equally capable of supporting egg production at concentrations above Pc at 15°C. Rate of egg production was independent of adult female size when food and temperature were constant. Egg production rates of freshly captured females ranged from 0 to 188 eggs female-1 d-1 and were higher in April and May than in June or July. Hatching rates of eggs increased with increased temperature; 95% of the eggs at 15°C hatched within 48 h, while only 8% of the eggs at 10°C hatched within 48 h. Development rates, determined at 10°C in excess concentrations of T. weisflogii, were 23.0 d from egg release to copepodid state I, 27.0 d to stage II, 29.5 d to stage III, 32.2 d to stage IV, 38.5 d to stage V and 49 d to adulthood based on the average time required for 50% of the organisms in an experiment to attain a given stage. Adult males were usually observed 2 to 4 d before adult females, and therefore have a slightly faster rate of development. The effects of temperature, food type and food concentration on egg production and the seasonal appearances of diatoms in the New York Bight may account for the observed seasonal cycles in abundance of C. typicus in these coastal waters.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Cahoon, L. B.: Reproductive response of Acartia tonsa to variations in food ration and quality. Deep-Sea Res. 28A, 1215–1221 (1981)
Checkley, D. M., Jr.: The egg production of a marine planktonic copepod in relation to its food supply: laboratory studies. Limnol Oceanogr. 25, 430–446 (1980)
Conover, R. J.: Transformation of organic matter. In: Marine ecology: a comprehensive, integrated treatise on life in oceans and coastal waters, Vol. 4, 220 pp. Ed. by Otto Kinne. New York: Wiley-Interscience 1978
Corkett, C. J.: Observations on development in copepods. Studies on Copepoda., II. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Copepoda. Crustacea Suppl. 7 (In press)
Corkett, C. J. and I. A. Mclaren: The biology of Pseudocalanus. Adv. mar. Biol. 15, 1–231 (1978)
Cushing, D. H., G. F. Humphrey, K. Banse and T. Laevastu: Report of the committee on terms and equivalents. Rapp. P.-v. Reun. Cons. int. Explor. Mer 144, 15–16 (1958)
Dagg, M.: Some effects of patchy food environments on copepods. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 99–107 (1977)
Dagg, M. J.: Estimated, in situ, rates of egg production for the copepod Centropages typicus (Krøyer) in the New York Bight. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 34, 183–196 (1978)
Dagg, M. J. and D. W. Grill: Natural feeding rates of Centropages typicus females in the New York Bight. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25, 597–609 (1980)
Durbin, E. G., A. G. Durbin, T. J. Smayda and P. G. Verity: Food limitation of production by adult Acartia tonsa in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28, 1199–1213 (1983)
Fleminger, A.: Taxonomy, distribution, and polymorphism in the Labidocera jollae group with remarks on evolution within the group (Copepoda: Calanoida). U.S. natl Mus. Proc. 120, 1–61 (1967)
Grice, G. D. and A. D. Hart: The abundance, seasonal occurrence and distribution of the epizooplankton between New York and Bermuda. Ecol. Monogr. 32, 287–309 (1962)
Guillard, R. R. L. and J. H. Ryther: Studies on marine planktonic diatoms I. Cyclotella nana Hustedt and Detonula confervacea (Cleve) Gran. Can. J. Microbiol. 8, 229–239 (1962)
Heinle, D. R., R. P. Harris, J. F. Ustach and D. A. Flemer: Detritus as food for estuarine copepods. Mar. Biol. 40, 341–353 (1977)
Judkins, D. C., C. D. Wirick and W. E. Esaias: Composition, abundance, and distribution of zooplankton in the New York Bight, September 1974-September 1975. Fish. Bull. U.S. 77, 669–683 (1980)
Landry, M. R.: The development of marine calanoid copepods with comment on the isochronal rule. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28, 614–624 (1983)
Lawson, T. J. and G. D. Grice. The developmental stages of Centropages typicus Krøyer (Copepoda, Calanoida). Crustaceana 18, 187–208 (1970)
Malone, T. C., T. S. Hopkins, P. G. Falkowski and T. E. Whitledge: Production and transport of phytoplankton biomass over the continental shelf of the New York Bight. Cont. Shelf Res 1, 305–337 (1983)
Marshall, S. M. and A. P. Orr: The biology of a marine copepod, 195 pp. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd 1972
McLaren, I. A.: Generation lengths of some temperate marine copepods: estimation, prediction, and implications. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 35, 1330–1342 (1978)
McLaren, I. A. and C. J. Corkett: Temperature dependent growth and production by a marine copepod. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 38, 77–83 (1981)
Miller, C. B., J. K. Johnson and D. R. Heinle: Growth rules in the marine copepod genus Acartia. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 326–335 (1977)
Morey-Gaines, G.: The ecological role of red tides in the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor food web. In: Toxic dinoflagellate blooms. pp 315–320. Ed. by D. Taylor and H. Seliger. New York: Elsevier North Holland, Inc. 1979
Strathmann, R. R.: Estimating the organic carbon content of phytoplankton from cell volume or plasma volume. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 411–418 (1967)
Vidal, J.: Physioecology of zooplankton. I. Effects of phytoplankton concentration, temperature, and body size on the growth rate of Calanus pacificus and Pseudocalanus sp. Mar. Biol. 56, 111–134 (1980)
Wold, E. (ed.): Atlantic coastal experiment 0, survey cruises, July 1974–September 1975, Data Report. Vol. 1, Hydrography and productivity. Informal Data Report Number BNL-24770, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 206 pp. 1978a
Wold, E. (Ed.): Atlantic coastal experiment 0, survey cruises, July 1974–September 1975, Data Report. Vol. 2, Zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. Informal Data Report Number BNL-24771, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 145 pp. 1978b
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J.M. Shick, Orono
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, S.L., Lane, P.V.Z. Laboratory studies of the marine copepod Centropages typicus: egg production and development rates. Mar. Biol. 85, 153–162 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397434
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397434