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Seasonal and individual variability of lipid reserves in Oithona similis (Cyclopoida) in an Arctic fjord

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Abstract

The lipid storage of the cyclopoid copepod Oithona similis was investigated from spring to late summer 2007 in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Norway). The volume of lipid droplets in each individual reflected the amount of stored wax esters. Seasonal changes of lipid storage coupled with informative inter-individual variability were thus obtained. The seasonal pattern showed an increase in lipid store during the spring bloom, starting before the chlorophyll a maximum for both copepodids stage V and females. Those reserves were used during the main reproductive event in June. Individual variability was very high, with a significant proportion of copepods having no droplet, while others were lipid rich. Because of the overlap of generation, females could have different age and feeding history, particularly in September. Consideration of intra-population variability in lipid storage using an optical approach has been shown to be important to understand O. similis’s ecology and life cycle.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Janine Cuzin-Roudy, Haakon Hop and three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. The sampling logistic was assisted by Kings Bay AS, the French Polar Institute-Institut Paul Emile Victor (IPEV), the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) and Margaux Noyon. Marc Boutoute performed the Chla fluorometric measurements. The fieldwork season was funded by IPEV through the PRACEAL project, and NPI through an Arktisstipend scholarship. This study was supported by the ARCTOS Research Network. This is a contribution to the EUR-OCEANS Network of Excellence funded by the European Commission (contract WP4-SYSAN-1058). F. Narcy is supported by a EUR-OCEANS scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7093, 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France

    Fanny Narcy, Stéphane Gasparini & Patrick Mayzaud

  2. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, CNRS, UMR 7093, 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France

    Fanny Narcy, Stéphane Gasparini & Patrick Mayzaud

  3. Norwegian Polar Institute, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Fanny Narcy & Stig Falk-Petersen

  4. Norwegian College of Fishery Science, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Fanny Narcy & Stig Falk-Petersen

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  1. Fanny Narcy
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  2. Stéphane Gasparini
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  4. Patrick Mayzaud
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Correspondence to Fanny Narcy.

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Narcy, F., Gasparini, S., Falk-Petersen, S. et al. Seasonal and individual variability of lipid reserves in Oithona similis (Cyclopoida) in an Arctic fjord. Polar Biol 32, 233–242 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0524-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0524-y

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