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Life histories of the copepods Pseudocalanus minutus, P. acuspes (Calanoida) and Oithona similis (Cyclopoida) in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

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Abstract

The year-round variation in abundance and stage-specific (vertical) distribution of Pseudocalanus minutus and Oithona similis was studied in the Arctic Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Maxima of vertically integrated abundance were found in November with 111,297 ind m−2 for P. minutus and 704,633 ind m−2 for O. similis. Minimum abundances comprised 1,088 ind m−2 and 4,483 ind m−2 in June for P. minutus and O. similis, respectively. The congener P. acuspes only occurred in low numbers (15–213 ind m−2), and successful reproduction was debatable. Reproduction of P. minutus took place in May/June, and stage distribution revealed a 1-year life cycle with copepodids CIII, CIV, and CV as the overwintering stages. Oithona similis exhibited two main reproductive peaks in June and August/September, respectively. Moreover, it reproduced more or less continuously throughout the whole year with all stages occurring during the entire sampling period, suggesting two generations per year. Both species migrated towards greater depth in November, but O. similis preferred to stay longer in the upper 100 m as compared to Pseudocalanus. The reproduction of the two species in Kongsfjorden seemed to be linked to phytoplankton dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS) and the staff of the Koldewey Station of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Ny Ålesund for providing excellent logistic facilities and support during the 1-year field period. Special thanks to Dr. Ole Jørgen Lønne for supervising the project during the 1-year-stay at UNIS, as well as to Dirk Römermann for always providing support with regard to technical help, manpower, and collecting zooplankton. The first author is also grateful to all volunteers who helped during the field work, sometimes under extreme climatic conditions: Bodil Bluhm, Stefan Claes, Haakon Hop, Fred Skancke Hansen, Ole-Jørgen Lønne, Wojtek Moskal, Michael Poltermann, Sten Richard Richardsen as well as the crews of R/V Jan Mayen, a Norwegian coastguard vessel (R/V Lance) and R/V Oceania. Jan Marcin Weslawski and his team from the Polish Institute for Oceanology in Sopot are gratefully acknowledged for collecting the July zooplankton samples. We also thank Holger Auel and three anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript. The sampling period on Svalbard was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (HA 1706/4-1).

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  1. Institute for Polar Ecology, Kiel University, Wischhofstrasse 1–3, Geb. 12, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Silke Lischka

  2. Marine Zoology (FB 2), Bremen University (NW 2A), P.O. Box 330440, 28344, Bremen, Germany

    Wilhelm Hagen

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Correspondence to Silke Lischka.

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Lischka, S., Hagen, W. Life histories of the copepods Pseudocalanus minutus, P. acuspes (Calanoida) and Oithona similis (Cyclopoida) in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Svalbard). Polar Biol 28, 910–921 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0017-1

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