Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effects of temperature and salinity on egg production and hatching success of Baltic Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida): a laboratory investigation

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The functional response of the aspects of reproductive success of a southwestern Baltic population of Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida) was quantified in the laboratory using wide ranges in temperatures and salinities. Specifically, daily egg production (EP, # female−1 day−1) was determined for 4 or 5 days at 18 different temperatures between 5 and 34°C and the time course and success of hatching were evaluated at 10 different temperatures between 5 and 23°C. The effect of salinity (0 to 34 psu) on egg hatching success was also examined. The highest mean rates of EP were observed between 22 and 23°C (46.8–50.9 eggs female−1 day−1). When studied at 18 psu, hatching success of eggs increased with increasing temperature and was highest (92.2%) at 23°C. No hatching was observed for eggs incubated at low temperatures (≤12°C) that were produced by females acclimated to temperatures ≤10°C indicating a possible thermal threshold between 10.0 and 13.0°C below which only the production of diapause (or low quality) eggs exists in this population. When tested at 18°C, the hatching success of eggs incubated at 15 different salinities increased asymptotically with increasing salinity and was maximal (81.4–84.5%) between 17 and 25 psu. The high reproductive success observed over wide ranges in temperatures and salinities in this Baltic population demonstrates one of the mechanisms responsible for the cosmopolitan distribution of this species within productive, estuarine and marine habitats.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arndt AE, Heidecke D (1973) Investigations on zooplankton in the coastal areas of the Bay of Mecklenburg. Wiss Z Univ Rostock, Math Naturwiss Reihe 22:599–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Arndt AE, Schnese W (1986) Population dynamics and production of Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida) in Darss-Zingst estuary, southern Baltic. Ophelia supplement 4:329–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Ban S (1994) Effect of temperature and food concentration on post-embryonic development, egg production and adult body size of calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis. J Plank Res 16:721–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrends G, Schneider G (1995) Impact of Aurelia aurita medusae (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) on the standing stock and community composition of mesozooplankton in the Kiel Bight (western Baltic Sea). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 127:39–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley BP (1991) Seasonal succession in Chesapeake Bay. Bull Plank Soc Jap Spec Vol 129–131

  • Broglio E, Jonasdottir SH, Calbet A, Jakobsen HH, Saiz E (2003) Effect of heterotrophic versus autotrophic food on feeding and reproduction of the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa: relationship with prey fatty acid composition. Aquat Microb Ecol 31:267–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlotti F, Slagstad D (1997) Population dynamics model of interacting copepod species coupled with a 1-D model of phytoplankton dynamics in the Greenland Sea Gyre. Environ Model Assess 2:29–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlotti F, Wolf K-U (1998) A Lagrangian ensemble model of Calanus finmarchicus coupled with a 1-D ecosystem model. Fish Oceanogr 7:191–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castellani C, Lucas IAN (2003) Seasonal variation in egg morphology and hatching success in the calanoid copepods Temora longicornis, Acartia clausi and Centropages hamatus. J Plank Res 25:527–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro-Longoria E (2003) Egg production and hatching success of four Acartia species under different temperature and salinity regimes. J Crust Biol 23:289–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro-Longoria E, Williams JA (1999) The production of subitaneous and diapause eggs: a reproductive strategy for Acartia bifilosa (Copepods: Calanoida) in Southampton water, UK. J Plank Res 21:65–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cervetto G, Gaudy R, Pagano M (1999) Influence of salinity on the distribution of Acartia tonsa (Copepoda, Calanoida). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 239:33–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chinnery FE, Williams JA (2003) Photoperiod and temperature regulation of diapause egg production in Acartia bifilosa from Southampton water. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 263:149–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chinnery FE, Williams JA (2004) The influence of temperature and salinity on Acartia (Copepoda: Calanoida) nauplii survival. Mar Biol 145:733–738

    Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung B, Heath M, Werner F, Chai F, Megrey B, Monfray P (2004) Challenges of modeling ocean basin ecosystems. Science 304:1463–1466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutz J, Mohrholz V, Peters J, Renz J, Alheit J (2004) A strong impact of winter temperature on spring recruitment of a key copepod species in the Bornholm Basin: potential linkages to climate variability. International GLOBEC Newsletter 10.1:9–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudy R, Cervetto G, Pagano M (2000) Comparison of the metabolism of Acartia clausi and A. tonsa: influence of temperature and salinity. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 247:51–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • González JG (1974) Critical thermal maxima and upper lethal temperatures for the calanoid copepods Acartia tonsa and A. clausi. Mar Biol 27:219–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez CRM, Bradley BP (1994) Salinity stress proteins in Eurytemora affinis. Hydrobiol 292/293:461–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grice GD, Marcus NH (1981) Dormant eggs of marine copepods. Oceanogr Mar Biol Ann Rev 19:125–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Halsband-Lenk C, Hirche H-J, Carlotti F (2002) Temperature impact on reproduction and development of congener copepod populations. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 271:121–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen BW, Marker T, Andreassen P, Arashkewich E, Carlotti F, Lindeque P, Tande KS, Wagner M (2003) Differences in Life cycle traits of Calanus finmarchicus originating from 60°N and 69°N, when reared in mesocosms at 69°N. Mar Biol 142:877–893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinle DR (1969) Temperature and zooplankton. Chesapeake Sci 10:186–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinle DR (1981) Zooplankton In: Vernberg FJ, Vernberg WB (eds) Functional adaptations of marine organisms. Academic Press, New York, pp 85–145

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J (1974) The copepods Eurytemora affinis Poppe and Acartia tonsa Dana and their infestation by the stalked ciliate Myoschiston centropagidarum Precht (Peritricha) in the Schlei. Kiel Meeresforsch 30:43–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J, Meyer U, Niehoff B (1997) Egg production of Calanus finmarchicus: effects of temperature, food and season. Mar Biol 127:609–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirst AG, Bunker AJ (2003) Growth of marine planktonic copepods: global rates and patterns in relation to chlorophyll a, temperature, and body weight. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1988–2010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holste L (2004) The influence of temperature, salinity and feeding history on population characteristics of Baltic Acartia tonsa: egg production, hatching success and cohort development. Masters Thesis, Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Research, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, p 79

  • Ikeda T (1985) Metabolic rates of epipelagic marine zooplankton as a function of body mass and temperature. Mar Biol 85:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffries HP (1962) Succession of two Acartia species in estuaries. Limnol Oceanogr 7:354–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jónasdóttir SH (1994) Effects of food quality on the reproductive success of Acartia tonsa and Acartia hudsonica: laboratory observations. Mar Biol 121:97–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim WS (1995) The effect of temperature on the egg production rates of Acartia tonsa (calanoid copepod) in Long Island Sound. Ocean Res 17:1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kinne O (1970) Temperature: animals: invertebrates. In: Kinne O (ed) Marine Ecology, vol 1. Environmental factors. Part 1. Wiley-Interscience, London, pp 407–514

  • Kiørboe T, Møhlenberg F, Hamburger K (1985) Bioenergetics of the planktonic copepod Acartia tonsa: relation between feeding, egg production and respiration, and composition of specific dynamic action. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 26:85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein Breteler WCM, Gonzales SR (1986) Influence of temperature and food concentration on body size, weight and lipid content of two calanoid copepod species. Hydrobiol 167/168:201–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koski M, Kuosa H (1999) The effect of temperature, food concentration and female size on the egg production of the planktonic copepod Acartia bifilosa. J Plank Res 21:1779–1789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee H-W, Ban S, Ikeda T, Matsuishi T (2003) Effect of temperature on development, growth and reproduction in the marine copepod Pseudocalanus newmani at a satiating food concentration. J Plank Res 25:261–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindley JA (1990) Distribution of overwintering calanoid copepod eggs in seabed sediments around southern Britain. Mar Biol 104:209–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madhupratap M, Nehring S, Lenz J (1996) Resting eggs of marine zooplankton (Copepoda and Cladocera) from Kiel Bay and adjacent waters (southwestern Baltic). Mar Biol 125:77–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maps F, Runge JA, Zarardjian B, Joly B (2005) Egg production and hatching success of Temora longicornis (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 285:117–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus NH (1984) Recruitment of copepod nauplii into the plankton: importance of diapause eggs and benthic processes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 15:47–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus NH (1996) Ecological and evolutionary significance of resting eggs in marine copepods: past, present, and future. Hydrobiol 32:141–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus NH, Lutz R, Burnett W, Cable P (1994) Age, viability and vertical distribution of zooplankton resting eggs from an anoxic basin: evidence of an egg bank. Limnol Oceanogr 39:154–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchline J (1998) The biology of calanoid copepods. Elsevier, Oxford, p 710

    Google Scholar 

  • Mclaren IA, Leonard A (1995) Assessing the equivalence of growth and egg production of copepods. ICES J Mar Sci 52:397–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller CB, Johnson JK, Heinle DR (1977) Growth rules in the marine copepod genus Acartia. Limnol Oceanogr 22:326–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Möllmann C, Kornilovs G, Sidrevics L (2000) Long-term dynamics of main mesozooplankton species in the central Baltic Sea. J Plank Res 22:2015–2038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norberg J, DeAngelis D (1997) Temperature effects on stocks and stability of a phytoplankton–zooplankton model and the dependence on light and nutrients. Ecol Model 95:75–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill RV (1968) Population energetics of a millipede, Narceus americanus. Ecology 49:803–809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paffenhöfer GA, Stearns DE (1988) Why is Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida) restricted to nearshore environments? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 42:33–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrish KK, Wilson DF (1978) Fecundity studies on Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida) in standardized culture. Mar Biol 46:65–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Runge JA (1984) Egg production of the marine, planktonic copepod, Calanus pacificus Brodsky: laboratory observations. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 74:53–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute Inc. (1989) SAS/STAT® User’s Guide Version 6, Fourth Edition Vol. 2. SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC, p 846

  • Sekiguchi H, McLaren IA, Corkett CJ (1980) Relationship between growth rate and egg production in the copepod Acartia clausi hudsonica. Mar Biol 58:133–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Støttrup JG (2000) The elusive copepods: their production and suitability in marine aquaculture. Aquacult Res 31:703–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Støttrup JG, Jensen J (1990) Influence of algal diet on feeding and egg production of the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa Dana. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 141:87–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan BK, McManus LT (1986) Factors controlling seasonal succession of the copepods Acartia hudsonica and A. tonsa in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island: temperature and resting egg production. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 28:121–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tester PA (1985) Effects of parental acclimation temperature and egg incubation temperature on egg-hatching time in Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida). Mar Biol 89:45–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tester PA, Turner JT (1991) Why is Acartia tonsa restricted to estuarine habitats? In: Proc 4th Internat Copepod Conference, Bull Plank Soc Jap Spec Vol 603–611

  • Thomas WH, Scotten HL, Bradshaw JS (1963) Thermal gradient incubators for small aquatic organisms. Limnol Oceanogr 8:357–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson NHF, Smallman BW (1971) The role of photoperiod and temperature in the induction and termination of an arrested development in two species of freshwater cyclopoid copepods. Can J Zool 49:855–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellershaus S, Soltanpour-Gargari A (1991) Planktonic copepods in the very low salinity region in estuaries. Bull Plank Soc Jap Spec Vol 133–142

  • White JR, Roman MR (1992) Egg production by the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa in the mesohaline Chesapeake Bay: the importance of food resource and temperature. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 86:239–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viitasalo M, Katajisto M (1994) Mesozooplankton resting eggs in the Baltic Sea: identification and vertical distribution in laminated and mixed sediments. Mar Biol 120:455–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viitasalo M, Koski M, Pellikka K, Johansson S (1995) Seasonal and long-term variations in the body size of planktonic copepods in the northern Baltic Sea. Mar Biol 123:241–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the help of Philipp Kanstinger, Bianca Ewest, Meike Martin and Gudrun Bening with laboratory rearing and data collection. We would also like to thank Dr. Mike A. St.John and Dr. Axel Temming and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this manuscript. This research was funded by the Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC, Germany) program by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF 03F0320E) and the German Science Foundation (DFG) AQUASHIFT program cluster Resolving Trophodynamic Consequences of Climate Change (“RECONN”, DFG # JO556/1-1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Research, University of Hamburg, Olbersweg 24, 22767, Hamburg, Germany

    Linda Holste & Myron A. Peck

Authors
  1. Linda Holste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Myron A. Peck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Holste.

Additional information

Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holste, L., Peck, M.A. The effects of temperature and salinity on egg production and hatching success of Baltic Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida): a laboratory investigation. Marine Biology 148, 1061–1070 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0132-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0132-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation