Effect of diatom nutrient limitation on copepod development: the role of essential lipids

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 291:125-133 (2005) - doi:10.3354/meps291125 Effect of diatom nutrient limitation on copepod development: role of essential lipids W. C. M. Klein Breteler*, N. Schogt, S. Rampen Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands *Email: wkb@nioz.nl ABSTRACT: The development of 2 copepod species was studied with nutrient-limited algae as the sole food source. Thalassiosira weissflogii was grown under different levels of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation. Young copepodite stages of Temora longicornis (Müller) and Pseudocalanus elongatus (Boeck) developed at significantly reduced rates, both when fed with the nitrogen- and the phosphorus-limited diatom. At high levels of nutrient limitation, the copepods often did not reach maturity. The lipid composition of the diatom was strongly affected by nutrient limitation. Both the proportion and the content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were reduced, particularly under phosphorus limitation. The dominant sterol, Δ5,24(28)C28:2, was reduced by about a factor of 2 both under nitrogen and phosphorus limitation. The results suggest that the different growth rates of the copepods observed can be explained by the different lipid composition of the algae due to nutrient limitation. KEY WORDS: Copepods · Development · Food quality · Diatoms · Fatty acids · Polyunsaturated fatty acids · PUFAs · Sterols Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 291. Online publication date: April 28, 2005 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2005 Inter-Research.