Zooplankton growth rates: diel egg production in the copepods Oithona, Euterpina and Corycaeus from tropical waters

Clear diel periodicity in the timing of egg laying was observed in the tropical cyclopoid cope- pods Oithona plumifera, Oithona nana, Oithona simplex and Corycaeus amazomcus, and the harpacti- coid Euterpina acutifrons in waters surrounding Jamaica, West Indies. Individual females incubated under ambient food conditions for multiple clutches displayed remarkable constancy in their clutch durations (= egg or embryonic development time). All species exhibited clutch durations of 20-23 h and cycle durations (= sum of clutch and inter-clutch durations) of 24 h, except for the offshore species O.plumifera where the clutch duration was 36 h and the cycle duration 48 or 72 h. Egg laying appeared to be synchronized by photoperiod, occurring around dawn for most species. In order to avoid biases, diel periodicity must be accounted for in estimates of egg production rates, and future efforts should concentrate on the responses of clutch size and interclutch durations to natural food climates.

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