Physiological Responses of the Copepods Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora carolleeae to Changes in the Nitrogen:Phosphorus Quality of Their Food

Two contrasting estuarine copepods, Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora carolleeae, the former a broadcast spawner and the latter a brood spawner, were fed a constant carbon-based diatom diet, but which had a variable N:P content, and the elemental composition (C, N, P) of tissue and eggs, as well as changes in the rates of grazing, excretion, egg production and viability were measured. To achieve the varied diet, the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was grown in continuous culture at a constant growth rate with varying P supply. Both copepods altered their chemical composition in response to the varied prey, but to different degrees. Grazing (clearance) rates increased for A. tonsa but not for E. carolleeae as prey N:P increased. Variable NH4+ excretion rates were observed between copepod species, while excretion of PO43− declined as prey N:P increased. Egg production by E. carolleeae was highest when eating high N:P prey, while that of A. tonsa showed the opposite pattern. Egg viability by A. tonsa was always greater than that of E. carolleeae. These results suggest that anthropogenically changing nutrient loads may affect the nutritional quality of food for copepods, in turn affecting their elemental stoichiometry and their reproductive success, having implications for food webs.