JPR Advance Access originally published online on September 21, 2006
Journal of Plankton Research 2006 28(12):1199-1216; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbl050
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Egg production rates and stage-specific development times of Clausocalanus furcatus (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Present Address: Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport, OR 97365, USA
* Corresponding Author: hongsheng.bi{at}noaa.gov
Received on April 5, 2006; revised on August 4, 2006; accepted on September 18, 2006
Communicating editor: R.P. Harris
| Abstract |
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The calanoid copepod Clausocalanus furcatus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical oceans, yet knowledge of its reproduction and development remains limited. We estimated egg production rates and stage-specific development times from laboratory incubations and field samples collected at a petroleum platform in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Egg production experiments were performed in 2002 and 2003 at a laboratory on the platform using freshly collected female copepods. Median stage development durations were also measured during the incubations. Logistic regression models were used to estimate median stage durations. The median development times of Clausocalanus furcatus from hatching to adulthood ranged from
13 to 20 days. Field samples were collected from waters beneath the platform at 12-h intervals using a 30-L Niskin water bottle during MarchApril and MayJune 2003, and the Edmonson egg ratio method was used to estimate the mean in situ egg production rate. This field-derived mean egg production rate was significantly lower than the 12.08 eggs female1 day1 measured from incubation experiments, and this difference may reflect high in situ egg mortality. In situ egg production rates also showed high variability and were almost five times higher during MarchApril compared to MayJune.