Research progress on diatom-copepod interaction.

One of the focal spot of marine ecology is the effects of diatom on copepod reproduction,which decreases copepod egg fecundity and hatching success.Two hypotheses had been suggested to explain the deleterious effects,nutritionally deficient and/or possible toxic agents.It still can not find agreements between the laboratory and in situ works.The results from laboratory indicated that the inhibitory effect caused by diatom could be due to deficiency of some polyunsaturated acids (PUFAs).However,the results from in situ works suggested that the inhibition on copepod hatching may be ascribed to some secondary products (low molecular weight aldehydes) produced by diatom.Up to now,it was still unclear that its work mechanism and the influence under natural environmental conditions.However,if such phenomenon occurs widely in the marine ecosystems,the current understanding of the classic marine food chain,diatom-copepod-fish,may be seriously limited.This article introduced the recent researches on diatom-copepod interaction,with some aspects requiring more study in the future put forward.