Geographical Variation of Body Size of Neocalanus cristatus, N. plumchrus and N. flemingeri in the Subarctic Pacific and Its Marginal Seas: Implications for the Origin of Large Form of N. flemingeri in the Oyashio Area

Abstract

Size distributions of Neocalanus cristatus, N. flemingeri and N. plumchrus were investigated in the eastern and the western subarctic gyres and three marginal seas of the North Pacific during the diapause period to examine the geographical variation in body size of Neocalanus species and to clarify the origin of the large biennial N. flemingeri which has been observed in the Oyashio region. There were significant among region variations in body sizes for all three species of Neocalanus. Generally, the body sizes of the copepods were larger in the marginal seas and marginal areas of the open ocean. In the open ocean, the body sizes increased westward. These patterns of variation in the body sizes roughly correlated with local food availability. Distribution of biennial N. flemingeri was restricted to the Sea of Japan, the Okhotsk Sea and the Oyashio region. The large-sized biennial N. flemingeri were abundantly observed in the Okhotsk Sea, and the medium-sized biennial individuals were observed in the Sea of Japan. These facts strongly suggest that the large biennial N. flemingeri in the Oyashio region are advected from the Okhotsk Sea.