Early development of Calanus hyperboreus nauplii: Response to a changing ocean

Abstract

To forecast effects of temperature changes on recruitment and population dynamics of the Arctic copepod Calanus hyperboreus, laboratory experiments investigating temperature and food effects on early development were performed in Disko Bay, western Greenland, in 2009, and ascent rates of C. hyperboreus eggs collected in east Greenland were measured in the laboratory. Ascent rates were highly variable both between and within clutches, ranging from 0.7 to 27.7 m d−1, suggesting variability in the biochemical composition of the egg. Development of eggs were investigated between 0.8°C and 6.6°C, and hatching was fitted to a Belčhrádek temperature function (r2 > 0.99) with mean development time (MDT) of eggs ranging from 2.8 to 5.8 d. MDT of fed and starved nauplii was calculated for nauplii raised at 5°C. Fed nauplii developed through the first five nauplius stages (N1‐N5) during 40 d of incubation, whereas development of starved nauplii ceased at N3. Nauplii were able to survive at least 30 d of starvation. Respiration rate was measured for N1 and N3 at 0°C, 5°C, and 10°C, and it increased with development stage and temperature from 0.05 ± 0.01 to 0.29 ± 0.08 nmol O2 nauplii−1 h−1 for N1 at 0°C and N3 at 10°C, respectively. A decrease in carbon and lipid content from egg to N3 indicates that nauplii are using stored lipids to cover their metabolic costs during the nonfeeding stages. Early stages of C. hyperboreus seem more affected by temperature than later stages, a vulnerability that might affect future recruitment.