Author: Maria Lorena  Romero Martinez,  PhD student (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn)

Designation: 

Description:
Cladocerans, an important zooplankton group in marine coastal regions worldwide, contribute to the benthic-pelagic coupling thanks to their life cycle, which includes the production of resting eggs that sink to the bottom and survive during unfavourable seasons. In temperate habitats, boosts of parthenogenic reproduction are commonly observed, but information on gamogenic stages is rarely provided. The growth, demise and resurgence of cladoceran populations were followed from February 2019 to February 2021 at the LTER site MareChiara in the inner Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea). The abundance and contribution of individual life stages to the total population were analysed together with the occurrence of resting eggs in the water column and in the sediments. Main findings highlighted: 1) the seasonal patterns of Penilia avirostris, Pseudevadne tergestina, Evadne spinifera, Pleopis polyphemoides and Podon intermedius occurring from spring through summer/autumn, 2) the species-specific relative contribution of different life stages, 4) the highest parthenogenic fecundity in females of P. tergestina and P. avirostris, 5) the highest concentration of resting eggs for P. tergestina in the water column and for P. avirostris in the sediments. This study sheds light on the demographic profile of the cladoceran species in the Gulf of Naples, contributing to our understanding of the role of life histories in determining population timing and structure.

Category: Scientific Program Abstract > Special Sessions > CS30 Zooplankton ecology and physiology