Short-term variation in abundance of four Acartia species (Copepoda, Calanoida) in a eutrophic bay

PeerJ

article

Seo Yeol Choi¹  Min Ho Seo²  Ho Young Soh¹ 

[1] Department of Ocean Integrated Science, Chonnam National University;Marine Ecology Research Center

关键词: Zooplankton;    Gamak Bay;    Interspecific coexistence;    Niche separation;    Generalized additive models;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.10835

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The short-term variation in the abundance of Acartia copepods in the eutrophic Gamak Bay of South Korea was investigated with weekly measurements from October 2007 to September 2008. During this period, four Acartia species (A. erythraea, A. ohtsukai, A. omorii, and A. sinjiensis) were recorded as showing seasonally different peak abundance. The abundance of A. erythraea and A. sinjiensis was high in autumn, whereas that of A. omorii was high from winter to spring. In summer, A. erythraea, A. ohtsukai, and A. sinjiensis coexisted at peak abundance significantly related to water temperature and salinity. Results from the response curves of the four Acartia species to water temperature and salinity suggest that A. erythraea and A. sinjiensis18 °C, whereas A. ohtsukai27 °C. The occurrence of A. erythraea, A. ohtsukai, and A. sinjiensis decreased with increasing salinity, but chlorophyll-a concentration showed no effect on occurrence. Despite these findings, the coexistence of the three ecologically similar species may be due to prey abundance in summer and autumn (chlorophyll-a10 µg L−1). Notably, the wide range of the response curve of A. omorii indicates its occurrence at higher salinity levels than other species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY