Regulatory Role of Physical Factors and Predation for Two Chesapeake Bay Copepod Species

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Abstract
Physical factors and invertebrate predators regulate the seasonal abundances of 2 Chesapeake Bay copepods, Scottolana canadensis and Oithona colcarva, which occur during spring and fall, respectively. The absence of population growth of either species during winter can be predicted on the basis of field temperatures, since laboratory experiments revealed that egg production and development were arrested at low temperatures. Temperature and salinity conditions in the field did not contribute to the absence of these species in summer, but were optimal for the growth of both species. A comparative analysis of field and laboratory data revealed that the per capita rate of population change in the field (per day) was consistently lower than that determined in the laboratory for comparable physical conditions. Predation by 2 invertebrate predators, the planktonic copepod Acartia tonsa and the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, had profound detrimental effects on summer populations of S. canadensis and O. colcarva. Predation rates frequently exceeded the ability of copepod populations to increase.

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