Lights and shadows of the feeding ecology of the small copepod Oithona
| Autor: | Sara Zamora-Terol, Torkel Gissel Nielsen, Mckinnon, A. D., Enric Saiz |
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| Zdroj: | Technical University of Denmark Orbit Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| Popis: | Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Aquatic Sciences: Global And Regional Perspectives - North Meets South, 22-27 February 2015, Granada, Spain Within zooplankton, copepods are the most abundant organisms in marine ecosystems. Copepods of the genus Oithona are present in polar, temperate, subtropical, and tropical waters; in epipelagic and mesopelagic environments; in estuaries, mangroves, continental shelves, and in the open ocean. They are often the most abundant copepod, and they play a key role in biogeochemical cycles in pelagic marine food webs. Despite their recognized ecological importance in pelagic environments, the genus Oithona is one of the least studied groups of copepods, and there are many unknown aspects of their biology, ecophysiology, and ecological role in marine ecosystems. Here we present results on the natural diet of Oithona spp. based on feeding experiments with adult females. We suggest that the ambush feeding behaviour of Oithona spp. defines the prey spectrum of their natural diet, since they feed on relatively few taxonomic groups comprising mainly motile organisms. In this presentation we will briefly review the known (lights) and unknown (shadows) aspects of the feeding ecology of Oithona spp., and add new insights based on comparative experiments conducted in tropical and polar waters |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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