Adult female harpacticoid copepods maintain their energy reserves by feeding while suspended during storms

Abstract

Adult females of some species of benthic harpacticoid copepods maintain their neutral-lipid energy reserves while suspended by storms. To determine whether they do so by feeding in the water column or by reducing their metabolic rate, we subjected harpacticoids from a coastal site (29°51' N, 84°31' W) to laboratory conditions that crossed factors of food and no food with suspension and no suspension. Adult females maintained their neutral-lipid levels when food was present and experienced a loss of neutral lipids when food was absent, whether suspended or not, demonstrating that adult female harpacticoid copepods maintain their neutral-lipid energy reserves when suspended by storms by feeding in the water column.