Resting egg production as a life history strategy of marine planktonic copepods.

Abstract

So far, resting eggs have been found for 24 temperate coastal species belonging to Temoridae, Centropagidae, Pontellidae, Acartiidae and Tortanidae. Two types of resting eggs can be defined by the nature of hatching under various environmental conditions, ie diapause and quiescent eggs. Production of the former eggs has been confirmed for 7 species. For 3 representative species (Tortanus forcipatus, Labidocera aestiva, Acartia clausi), the seasonal life history is reviewed in relation to environmental variables. Acartia clausi produces either types of resting eggs depending on geographical distribution, which suggests that the remote populations are genetically differentiated. Strategic values of copepod resting eggs in the seasonal population biology are discussed. -from Author