Journal of Plankton Research, Vol 21, 1501-1518, Copyright © 1999 by Oxford University Press
M Mazzocchi and G Paffenhofer
The objective of this study was to quantify motion and feeding behaviour of
the small calanoid Clausocalanus furcatus, which is a
common and abundant species in oligotrophic environments. Adult females
were video recorded at 60 fields s-1 using video
equipment which allowed us to follow each free-swimming individual
continuously in 3 1 vessels. At 20
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Swimming and feeding behaviour of the planktonic copepod Clausocalanus furcatus
Stazione Zoologica 'A. Dohrn', Villa Communale, 80121 Napoli, Italy; Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411, USA
C under
dark conditions, C.furcatus moved continuously along
convoluted small loops at a mean speed of 
10 mm
s-1 (corresponding to 10 body lengths
s-1). This motion was occasionally interrupted by
sudden somersaulting performed at very high speed (up to 17 mm
s-1). The copepods only occasionally sank. There was
no evidence that C.furcatus created feeding currents.
Dinoflagellate cells offered as food appeared to be perceived by direct
encounter at high speed, being instantaneously captured and ingested or
rejected. The capture rates were correlated with the frequency of
somersaulting. By moving fast and by associating a high turning rate with a
high frequency of crossing the previous tracks,
C.furcatus searched 22-26% of the explored volumes.
The motion and feeding behaviour of C.furcatus show
that the foraging tactic of this species is to explore small volumes of
water rapidly. This strategy appears, so far, to be unique among small
planktonic copepods.
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