Development and growth of ontogenetically migrating copepods during the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Oyashio region

We have evaluated development and growth of the ontogenetically migrating copepods in the northwestern subarctic Pacific by frequent sampling and by molting rate experiments during the spring phytoplankton bloom. Since different water masses frequently moved into the surface layers at our sampling station, the copepod abundance and species composition fluctuated greatly. Early copepodite stages of Eucalanus bungii and Neocalanus plumchrus appeared abundantly when a warmer and more saline water mass was present. Despite the fluctuating temporal pattern, the population structure revealed that each copepod species had a different life history strategy during the bloom. Eucalanus bungii were in the stages of gonad maturation, spawning and naupliar development when chlorophyll a concentrations were high. The phytoplankton bloom was utilized for development and lipid accumulation by late copepodites of Neocalanus cristatus and Neocalanus flemingeri and for development of nauplii and early copepodites of N. plumchrus. Molting experiments showed that carbon weight of ‘molters’ in the incubations was greater than that of ‘non-molters’, indicating that primarily animals with heavier body weight are those that molt into the next stage. Mean stage durations estimated by the molting rate method were on the order of 9.7 (C3) to 16.6 days (C4) for N. flemingeri, 13.9 (C3) to 29.1 days (C4) for N. plumchrus, and 12.2 days (C2) for E. bungii. Large fluctuations were observed for stage duration estimates, suggesting different development histories (i.e. ages-within-stage distributions) among the replicate incubations. From these results, we discuss development and growth of the ontogenetically migrating copepods during strongly fluctuating hydrographic conditions in the Oyashio.