Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters

The growth rates of Appendicularia sicula, Fritillaria borealis sargassi, Fritillaria haplostoma, Oikopleura dioica and Oikopleura longicauda were determined from microcosms incubated in situ at 28°C in Jamaican waters. Experiments were conducted from oligotrophic offshore waters, through mesotrophi...

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Main Authors: Hopcroft, R, Roff, J, Bouman, H
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 1998
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author Hopcroft, R
Roff, J
Bouman, H
author_facet Hopcroft, R
Roff, J
Bouman, H
author_sort Hopcroft, R
collection OXFORD
description The growth rates of Appendicularia sicula, Fritillaria borealis sargassi, Fritillaria haplostoma, Oikopleura dioica and Oikopleura longicauda were determined from microcosms incubated in situ at 28°C in Jamaican waters. Experiments were conducted from oligotrophic offshore waters, through mesotrophic Lime Cay and eutrophic Kingston Harbour in both natural and nutrient-enhanced phytoplankton communities. Length-weight relationships were calculated for two of these species: O.longicauda log W = 2.47 log TL - 6.10 and F.haplostoma log W = 2.44 log TL - 7.37, where weight (W) is in micrograms and trunk length (TL) is in micrometres. Instantaneous growth rates averaged 1.7-2.5 day-1 for the five species and were observed as high as 3.3 day-1. These instantaneous rates are equivalent to daily specific growth rates averaging 4.6-11.4 and ranging up to 28. In larger genera, growth rates were related positively to picoplankton and nanoplankton concentration, and negatively to the biomass of larvaceans, but in the smallest species growth was unrelated to these factors. However, because the variability in these two factors within microcosms exceeded their natural range of variability, growth rates of larvaceans may normally be unlimited by resources or population density effects.
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spelling oxford-uuid:98205249-00e0-48ec-b80e-291d3417b0562022-03-27T00:04:53ZZooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical watersJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:98205249-00e0-48ec-b80e-291d3417b056EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford1998Hopcroft, RRoff, JBouman, HThe growth rates of Appendicularia sicula, Fritillaria borealis sargassi, Fritillaria haplostoma, Oikopleura dioica and Oikopleura longicauda were determined from microcosms incubated in situ at 28°C in Jamaican waters. Experiments were conducted from oligotrophic offshore waters, through mesotrophic Lime Cay and eutrophic Kingston Harbour in both natural and nutrient-enhanced phytoplankton communities. Length-weight relationships were calculated for two of these species: O.longicauda log W = 2.47 log TL - 6.10 and F.haplostoma log W = 2.44 log TL - 7.37, where weight (W) is in micrograms and trunk length (TL) is in micrometres. Instantaneous growth rates averaged 1.7-2.5 day-1 for the five species and were observed as high as 3.3 day-1. These instantaneous rates are equivalent to daily specific growth rates averaging 4.6-11.4 and ranging up to 28. In larger genera, growth rates were related positively to picoplankton and nanoplankton concentration, and negatively to the biomass of larvaceans, but in the smallest species growth was unrelated to these factors. However, because the variability in these two factors within microcosms exceeded their natural range of variability, growth rates of larvaceans may normally be unlimited by resources or population density effects.
spellingShingle Hopcroft, R
Roff, J
Bouman, H
Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title_full Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title_fullStr Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title_full_unstemmed Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title_short Zooplankton growth rates: the larvaceans Appendicularia, Fritillaria and Oikopleura in tropical waters
title_sort zooplankton growth rates the larvaceans appendicularia fritillaria and oikopleura in tropical waters
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AT roffj zooplanktongrowthratesthelarvaceansappendiculariafritillariaandoikopleuraintropicalwaters
AT boumanh zooplanktongrowthratesthelarvaceansappendiculariafritillariaandoikopleuraintropicalwaters