Impact of suspended particulate matter on egg production of the estuarine copepod, Eurytemora affinis

Egg production rate and gut pigment content of Eurytemora affinis were measured in the Gironde, Westerschelde and Elbe estuaries. These represent various conditions with respect to suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration. Egg production rate varied as a function of temperature and was strongly affected by high SPM concentration. Specific gut pigment content (Gsp) and specific pigment ingestion also clearly decreased when SPM concentration increased, suggesting that SPM concentration could influence egg production rate through a vegetal prey uptake limitation and that E. affinis either gained an energetic advantage by vegetal prey ingestion or needed vegetal prey in order to obtain a minimum amount of specific component required for egg production.