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Relative importance of predatory versus non-predatory mortality for dominant copepod species in the northern Chilean (23°S) Humboldt Current System

S Yáñez, P Hidalgo, Kam Tang Orcid Logo

Marine Ecology Progress Series, Volume: 630, Pages: 13 - 23

Swansea University Author: Kam Tang Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3354/meps13130

Abstract

Using detailed data of live/dead compositions, stage durations and molting rates, we derived for the first time both predatory and non-predatory mortality rates of the three main copepod species, Paracalanus cf. indicus, Acartia tonsa and Calanus chilensis, within the Humboldt Current System (HCS),...

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Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
ISSN: 0171-8630 1616-1599
Published: Inter-Research Science Center 2019
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa51664
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Abstract: Using detailed data of live/dead compositions, stage durations and molting rates, we derived for the first time both predatory and non-predatory mortality rates of the three main copepod species, Paracalanus cf. indicus, Acartia tonsa and Calanus chilensis, within the Humboldt Current System (HCS), and examined their relations with environmental factors. Predatory mortality rates of all three species increased with developmental stages (hence body sizes), indicating top-down control by predators that prefer larger prey. Intrusion of oxygen-poor water via upwelling and low chlorophyll a concentration correlated with increased non-predatory mortality rates of P. cf. indicus and A. tonsa, whereas non-predatory mortality rate of C. chilensis increased with water temperature. Overall, non-predatory mortality accounted for 34.8 to 46.3 % of the total mortality among the three species. Changes in upwelling intensity due to climate change may alter the intensities of predatory and non-predatory mortalities in the HCS copepod communities.
Keywords: Copepod mortality, Neutral red stain, Copepod carcasses, Vertical life table
Start Page: 13
End Page: 23