Comparisons among the amino acid composition of females, eggs and food to determine the relative importance of food quantity and food quality to copepod reproduction

Abstract

A field study was carried out to determine the relative importance of both food quantity and food quality to reproduction of the copepod Euterpina acutifrons. The total protein concentration of the seston 3 to 20 µm size fraction was used as the indicator of food available for copepods in the field. Food quality was quantified by comparing the amino acid (AA) composition of females, eggs and the seston 3 to 20 µm size fraction, and by considering the species composition of the phytoplankton community. Egg production rate was mainly determined by food concentration. However, for the same food concentration, a reduced egg production rate was observed when there were more differences between the AA composition of eggs and females. Hatching success was correlated only with food quality. A higher hatching success was obtained when the similarity between the AA composition of eggs and females and between the AA composition of females and seston was higher. However, a reduced hatching success was observed when the proportion of diatoms in the phytoplankton was higher than 70%. Therefore, food quality limitation was due to an AA imbalance in the natural seston and, perhaps, due to the presence of inhibitory compounds. Copepods were food limited for long periods of the year. Food quality mainly limited copepod reproduction in spring and early summer, whereas food quantity limited reproduction at the end of autumn and early winter. In summer and early autumn the reproductive success of copepods was higher.

Differences in the density, sinking rate and biochemical composition of Centropages tenuiremis (Copepoda: Calanoida) subitaneous and diapause eggs

“…Glutamic acid and aspartic acid followed by valine and lysine dominated among the total AAs in subitaneous and diapause eggs of C. tenuiremis. Our results are comparable to the AA composition of Euterpina acutifrons eggs, in which the dominate essential AAs were glutamic acid, arginine, lysine, and aspartic acid (Guisande et al 2000). Generally, the individual AA levels in diapause eggs were higher than those in subitaneous eggs of C. tenuiremis.…”

Diversity of copepods in Atlantic Patagonian coastal waters throughout an annual cycle

“…El análisis MDS confirmó los mismos resultados a phytoplankton bloom, associated with favorable stratification, lower radiation, and temperature conditions. On the other hand, E. acutifrons, A. tonsa, and P. parvus were associated with flagellates, and this concurs with the observations made by Uye and Shibuno (1992) and Guisande et al (2000). Similar results were also obtained experimentally by Vargas and González (2004).…”

“…coincidencia con nuestros resultados, Villafañe et al (2004Villafañe et al ( , 2013 encontraron valores máximos de Chla en invierno; nosotros no recolectamos datos de la estratificación (perfiles de CTD) durante el invierno, pero estos autores han observado una floración de fitoplancton asociada con condiciones favorables a la estratificación, y la menor radiación y temperatura. Por otro lado, E. acutifrons, A. tonsa y P. parvus se asociaron con los flagelados, lo cual concuerda con la observaciones realizadas por Uye y Shibuno (1992) y Guisande et al (2000). Además, resultados similares fueron observados experimentalmente por Vargas y González (2004).…”

Estimation of Amino Acid Quality of Food for Benthic Invertebrates and Fish on the Basis of Comparative Study of Amino Acids of Periphyton and Zoobenthos of the Yenisey River

“…Многие исследователи считают АК-состав взрослых водных беспозвоночных не-изменным (Cowey and Corner, 1963;Cowgill et al, 1986;Guisande et al, 2000). Однако суще-ствует ряд работ, подтверждающих, что ре-продуктивные, половые и онтогенетические изменения влияют на АК-состав беспозво-ночных (Helland et al, 2003;Brucet et al, 2005).…”

“…К тому же существует ряд работ, указывающих на влияние содержания АК в пище на размножение морских копепод (Guisande et al, 2000;Helland et al, 2003). Более того, было показано, что некоторые незамени-мые аминокислоты (аргинин (Arg) и гистидин (His)) вовлечены в запуск механизма перехода между типами размножения у дафнии (Koch et al, 2011).…”