JPR Advance Access originally published online on April 30, 2004
Journal of Plankton Research 2004 26(8):909-923; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbh080
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Journal of Plankton Research Vol. 26 No. 8 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved
Life history, biomass and production of two planktonic cyclopoid copepods in a shallow subtropical reservoir
Departamento de Hidrobiologia and 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR), 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
*Corresponding Author: dmgm{at}power.ufscar.br
Received December 15, 2003; accepted in principle February 11, 2004; accepted for publication March 24, 2004; published online April 30, 2004
Two planktonic cyclopoid copepods (Tropocyclops prasinus and Mesocyclops longisetus) were raised in the laboratory to obtain life history information (duration of embryonic and post-embryonic development, reproductive performance, longevity, and stage-specific length and weight values). Animals were maintained at 20 and 25°C, and fed ad libitum. Development times were temperature dependent when food was not limiting, with shorter periods of embryonic and post-embryonic development and decreased longevity at 25°C. Laboratory data on the duration of development and biomass, together with population dynamics data obtained in the field, were used to estimate summer and winter biomass and production of these species in a shallow reservoir, Lagoa Dourada, Brazil. The maximum production rate of T. prasinus, attained during summer, was 2.8 mg dry weight (DW) m3 day1 and the highest daily production:biomass (P:B) ratio was 0.29, whereas for M. longisetus the maximum production rate was 1.4 mg DW m3 day1 and the highest daily P:B ratio was 0.39, in the winter. Over short time intervals (every other day), there was great variability of the species production rates. Species production rates were low compared to values reported in the literature for the same or other species of equivalent sized copepods from both tropical and subtropical regions.