Control of dormancy by lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus: a population model test

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 403:165-180 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08525 Control of dormancy by lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus: a population model test Frédéric Maps1,*, Stéphane Plourde2, Bruno Zakardjian3 1School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 350 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine 04101, USA 2Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850 route de la Mer, C.P. 1000 Mont-Joli, Québec G5H 3Z4, Canada 3Laboratoire de sondages électromagnétiques de l’environnement terrestre (LSEET), Université du Sud Toulon - Var, Bâtiment F, BP 20132, 83957 La Garde Cedex, France *Email: fmaps@gmri.org ABSTRACT: The life cycle of Calanus finmarchicus includes a prolonged dormancy phase that allows it to avoid the unfavourable environmental conditions typical of the upper ocean from late summer to early spring in the subarctic North Atlantic. Recent demographic, physiological and genetic evidence supports the hypothesis of a crucial role for lipid accumulation and metabolism in the control of dormancy. We present a stage-resolving biomass model of C. finmarchicus, implementing a mechanistic approach of the control of dormancy based on this lipid hypothesis. The dormancy process obeys 2 rules: (1) active copepodite stage Vs (C5s) enter dormancy when the ratio of lipid to total body carbon exceeds some threshold, and (2) diapausing C5s exit dormancy when their lipid storage approaches a lower threshold. We implemented the model into a 1-dimensional water column framework and compared our results to 2 consecutive years of observations of stage-specific copepodite abundances and lipid content of C5 from the Northwest Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. The model produced realistic phenology and temporal patterns in lipid content of C. finmarchicus in response to the observed environmental forcing. Interannual variations in the timing of entry and contributions of different generations to the overwintering stock were shown. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a lipid-mediated control of entrance and exit from dormancy in C. finmarchicus. KEY WORDS: Calanus finmarchicus · Dormancy · Lipid · Numerical modeling · Gulf of St. Lawrence Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Maps F, Plourde S, Zakardjian B (2010) Control of dormancy by lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus: a population model test. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 403:165-180. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08525 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 403. Online publication date: March 22, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.