Zooplankton ecology in the Chesapeake Bay estuarine turbidity maximum, with emphasis on the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorRoman, Michael Ren_US
dc.contributor.authorLloyd, Scott Stevenen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMarine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2006-06-14T05:57:09Z
dc.date.available2006-06-14T05:57:09Z
dc.date.issued2006-04-27en_US
dc.description.abstractThe estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) region of Chesapeake Bay, located near the limit of saltwater intrusion, is characterized by high total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations, high light attenuation, and high densities of zooplankton. Due to high light attenuation, primary production is generally low in ETMs, yet the Chesapeake Bay ETM region is often considered a 'hot spot' of zooplankton abundance within the Bay. The omnivorous copepod <em>Eurytemora affinis</em> is especially prevalent in the ETMs of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and in ETM regions worldwide. In order to determine the factors influencing 1) zooplankton distribution and abundance in the Chesapeake Bay ETM, 2) <em>E. affinis</em> reproduction in the Chesapeake Bay and Choptank River ETMs, and 3) zooplankton position maintenance, cruises in the Chesapeake Bay and Choptank River ETMs were conducted in 1996 and 2001-2003. Laboratory experiments examining the egg production cycle of <em>E. affinis</em> were also performed. The cruise results show that zooplankton taxa within the Chesapeake Bay ETM region tend to be distributed along a salinity gradient from up-estuary to down-estuary, with cladocerans being most common in low salinity/freshwater regions, <em>E. affinis</em> found in slightly higher salinities than cladocerans, and mysids and the copepod <em>Acartia tonsa</em> found in more mesohaline conditions. <em>Eurytemora affinis</em> appears to be contained in the ETM by freshwater limiting its up-estuary extent and biological interactions with <em>A. tonsa</em> and salinity tolerances limiting its down-estuary abundance. Grazing and egg production results indicate that <em>E. affinis</em> production is not food-limited in the ETM region and that this copepod's particle selection ability favors its success in the ETM over that of <em>A. tonsa</em>. Laboratory egg production experiments also suggest that the most accurate estimates of <em>E. affinis</em> egg production (and of all brooding copepods in general) are achieved by incorporating both a temperature-based estimate of interclutch duration (the time between successive clutches) with a temperature-based estimate of egg hatching time.en_US
dc.format.extent2553196 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3529
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledBiology, Oceanographyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledBiology, Ecologyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEnvironmental Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcopepoden_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledEurytemoraen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledegg productionen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledzooplanktonen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledvertical migrationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolleddistributionen_US
dc.titleZooplankton ecology in the Chesapeake Bay estuarine turbidity maximum, with emphasis on the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinisen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
umi-umd-3362.pdf
Size:
2.43 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

UMD Theses and Dissertations
Biology Theses and Dissertations
MEES Theses and Dissertations