Abstract
Nine genera of neritic tropical copepods were collected near Lime Cay, Jamaica, between July 1985 and January 1987. Length-weight regressions were derived for each genus (R 2=0.74 to 0.98), for all calanoids combined (R 2=0.88), and all cyclopoids combined (R 2=0.85). Width-weight regressions were also derived for the same genera but coefficients of determination were generally lower (R 2=0.52 to 0.98) and were much lower forOithona spp. (R 2=0.21). Over a 12 mo period, biomass estimates generated from these length-weight regressions differed by only 3% from direct weight determinations. There were no significant annual variations in prosome lengths for copepodite Stages 1 to 5 inCentropages velificatus, Paracalanus aculeatus orTemora turbinata; prosome lengths in femaleT. turbinata did significantly vary seasonally. No significant seasonal differences in length-weight relationships were observed forC. velificatus. The mean ash content of mixed copepod samples was 6.4%, and the energy density was 25.0 kJ g−1 AFDW. No significant loss of weight was observed 10 mo after preservation in 10% formalin.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature cited
Båmstedt, U. (1986). Chemical composition and energy content. In: Corner, E. D. S., O'Hara, S. C. M. (eds.) The biological chemistry of marine copepods. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 1–58
Baskerville, G. L. (1971). Use of logarithmic regression in the estimation of plant biomass. Can. J. For. Res. 2: 49–53
Bird, D. F., Prairie, Y. T. (1985). Practical guidelines for the use of zooplankton length-weight regression equations. J. Plankton Res. 7: 955–960
Björnberg, T. K. S. (1972). Developmental stages of some tropical and subtropical planktonic marine copepods. Stud. Fauna Curaçao 40: 1–185
Chisholm, L. A., Roff, J. C. (1990). Abundances, growth rates, and production of tropical neritic copepods off Kingston, Jamaica. Mar. Biol. 106: 79–89
Cohen, R. E., Lough, R. G. (1981). Length-weight relationships for several copepods dominant in the Georges Bank-Gulf of Maine area. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 2: 47–52
Durbin, E. G., Durbin, A. G. (1978). Length and weigth relationships ofAcartia clausi from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23: 958–969
El-Maghraby, A. M. (1965). The seasonal variations in length of some marine planktonic copepods from the eastern Mediterranean at Alexandria. Crustaceana 8: 37–47
Evans, F. (1977). Seasonal density and production estimates of the commoner planktonic copepods of Northumberland coastal waters. Estuar. cstl Shelf Sci. 5: 223–241
Fleminger, A., Hulsemann, K. (1973). Relationship of Indian Ocean epiplanktonic calanoids to the world oceans. In: Zeitzschel, B. (ed.) The biology of the Indian Ocean. Springer Verlag, Berlin, p. 339–348
Geller, W., Müller, H. (1985). Seasonal variability in the relationship between body length and individual dry weight as related to food abundance and clutch size in two coexistingDaphnia species. J. Plankton Res. 7: 1–18
Giguère, L. A., St. Pierre, J. F., Bernier, B., Vezina, A., Rondeau, J. G. (1989). Can we estimate the true weight of zooplankton samples after chemical preservation? Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sciences 46: 522–527
Hopcroft, R. R., Roff, J. C. (1990). Patterns in phytoplankton size fractions in a tropical neritic ecosystem near Kingston, Jamaica. J. Plankton Res. (in press)
Isaacs, J. D. (1973). Potential trophic biomasses and trace substance concentrations in unstructured marine food webs. Mar. Biol. 22: 97–104
Klein Breteler, W. C. M., Gonzalez, S. R. (1982). Influence of cultivation and food concentration on the body length of calanoid copepods. Mar. Biol. 71: 157–161
Lock, A. R., McLaren, I. A. (1970). The effect of varying and constant temperatures on the size of a marine copepod. Limnol. Oceanogr. 15: 638–640
McCauley, E. (1984). Estimation of the abundance and biomass of zooplankton in samples. In: Downing, J. A., Rigler, F. H. (eds.) Manual on methods for the assessment of secondary production in fresh waters, 2nd edn. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, p. 228–265
Omori, M. (1978). Some factors affecting on dry weight, organic weight and concentration of carbon and nitrogen in freshly prepared and preserved zooplankton. Int. Revue ges Hydrobiol. 63: 261–270
Owre, H. B., Foyo, M. (1967). Copepods of the Florida current — Fauna Caribaea, No. 1. University of Miami, Florida
Pearre, S. (1980). The copepod width-weight relation and its utility in food chain research. Can. J. Zool. 58: 1884–1891
Raymont, J. E. G. (1983). Plankton and Productivity in the Oceans, vol. 2. Zooplankton. Pergammon Press, Oxford
Robertson, A. (1968). The continuous plankton recorder: a method for studying the biomass of calanoid copepods. Bull. mar. Ecol. 6: 185–223
Roff, J. C., Hopcroft, R. R. (1986). High precision microcomputer based measuring system for ecological research. Can. J. Fish aquat. Sciences 43: 2044–2048
Sprugel, D. G. (1983). Correcting for bias in log-transformed allometric equations. Ecology 64: 209–210
Tremblay, M. J., Roff, J. C. (1983). Production estimates for Scotian Shelf zooplankton. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sciences 40: 598–611
UNESCO (1968). Report of working party no. 2. In: Zooplankton sampling. UNESCO, Paris
Vidal, J. (1980). Physioecology of Zooplankton I. Effects of phytoplankton concentration, temperature, and body size on the growth rate ofCalanus pacificus andPseudocalanus sp. Mar. Biol. 56: 111–134
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. O'Dor, Halifax
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chisholm, L.A., Roff, J.C. Size-weight relationships and biomass of tropical neritic copepods off Kingston, Jamaica. Mar. Biol. 106, 71–77 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02114676
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02114676