The neritic marine copepod Centropages typicus does not suffer physiological costs from diel temperature fluctuations associated with its vertical migration

Abstract

Diel vertical migration exposes zooplankton to fluctuating environmental conditions. In our study, we investigated the physiological costs of diel temperature fluctuations of vertical migration in the neritic marine copepod Centropages typicus, and checked whether the direct effects of fluctuating temperature on copepod performance may differ from those of average temperature conditions (Jensen’s inequality). We determined the rates of egestion, egg production, and respiration of copepods exposed to four temperature regimes including one treatment that simulated diel vertical migration (DVM, 10 h at 14 °C and 14 h at 19 °C) and three treatments with constant temperature (14, 17 and 19 °C). We found that the physiological performance of C. typicus was not significantly different between fluctuating (DVM) and average (17 °C) temperature conditions, thus indicating that differences between varying and average temperature effects might not emerge in migrant zooplankton exposed to thermal variations of moderate magnitude (5 ºC). The copepods exposed to fluctuating temperature mimicking vertical migration (DVM) showed better performance (e.g. higher egg production) than those exposed to constant depth conditions (14 °C); however, no significant differences were detected when compared to constant surface conditions (19 °C). Our study indicates that neritic marine copepods experiencing daily moderate temperature fluctuations through vertical migration may not suffer physiological costs due to temperature associated with this behaviour. In this sense, these animals might have physiological mechanisms to compensate diel temperature fluctuations, which would represent a particularly relevant preadaptation to cope with the increased thermal variability predicted in future climates.