Acartia tonsa

Acartia tonsa is a species of marine copepod in the family Acartiidae.[1]

Acartia tonsa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Copepoda
Order: Calanoida
Family: Acartiidae
Genus: Acartia
Species:
A. tonsa
Binomial name
Acartia tonsa
Dana, 1849
Synonyms
  • Acartia giesbrechti Dahl F., 1894
  • Acartia gracilis Herrick, 1887

Distribution

Acartia tonsa is a species of calanoid copepod that can be found in a large portion of the world's estuaries and areas of upwelling where food concentrations are high.[2][3]

Like many plankton common to estuarine ecosystems, they can live in a wide range of temperatures and salinities.[2] The wide distribution of Acartia tonsa may be a result of these copepods being transported as ballast in ships. Their tolerance to changes in salinity has likely contributed to their success as an invasive species in some regions.[4]

Characteristics

Acartia tonsa is translucent,[5] and is usually between about .8 and 1.5 millimetres (0.031 and 0.059 in) in length in females, and from about .8 to 1.3 millimetres (0.031 to 0.051 in) in males.[6] It "[c]an be differentiated from closely related species by their long first antennae (at least half the length of their bodies) and biramous (branched) second antennae, as well as the presence of a joint between their fifth and sixth body segments".[5]

Ecology and behavior

In estuaries and coastal waters which are warm throughout the year, A. tonsa is found year-round. In cooler climates including the North Atlantic, it is frequently the dominant zooplankton in the spring and summer. Acartia tonsa produces eggs in the winter in colder geographic regions. The eggs hatch when temperatures exceed 15 °C (59 °F).[7][8]

They are an important food source for many commercial fish species.[8] Several studies indicate they aggregate near the ocean floor during the day and rise closer to the surface at night. This behavior likely helps A. tonsa avoid predators who rely on vision to locate and capture prey.[9]

Feeding

A. tonsa nauplii and adults feed on phytoplankton as well as planktonic ciliates and rotifers.[10] It acts as a suspension feeder when feeding on phytoplankton. When feeding on motile prey it acts as an ambush feeder; it stays nearly motionless in the water, detects movement of its prey, and then jumps toward the prey. Moderate amounts of turbulence improve rates of ambush feedings.[11]

References
  1. "Acartia tonsa Dana, 1849". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. Chen, G.; Hare, M. P. (2008). "Cryptic ecological diversification of a planktonic estuarine copepod, Acartia tonsa". Molecular Ecology. 17 (6): 1451–1468. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03657.x.
  3. Paffenhöfer G.-A.; Stearns D. E. (1988). "Why is Acartia tonsa (Copepoda: Calanoida) restricted to nearshore environments?". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 42: 33–38. doi:10.3354/meps042033.
  4. Svetlichny, Leonid; Hubareva, Elena (2014). "Salinity tolerance of alien copepods Acartia tonsa and Oithona davisae in the Black Sea". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 461: 201–208. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2014.08.012.
  5. Gonzalez, G. (2013). "Acartia tonsa". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  6. Razouls C.; de Bovée F.; Kouwenberg J.; Desreumaux N. (2018). "Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Marine Planktonic Copepods". Sorbonne Université, CNRS. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  7. Sabatini, Marina E. (1990). "The developmental stages (copepodids I to VI) of Acartia tonsa Dana, 1849 (Copepoda, Calanoida)". Crustaceana. 59 (1): 53–61. doi:10.1163/156854090X00282. JSTOR 20104568.
  8. Sullivan, Barbara K.; Costello, John H.; Van Keuren, D. (2007). "Seasonality of the copepods Acartia hudsonica and Acartia tonsa in Narragansett Bay, RI, USA during a period of climate change". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 73 (1–2): 259–267. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2007.01.018.
  9. Fulton, Rolland S. (1984). "Distribution and community structure of estuarine copepods". Estuaries. 7 (1): 38–50. doi:10.2307/1351955. JSTOR 1351955.
  10. Swadling, Kerrie M.; Marcus, Nancy H. (1994). "Selectivity in the natural diets of Acartia tonsa Dana (Copepoda: Calanoida): comparison of juveniles and adults". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 181 (1): 91–103. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(94)90106-6.
  11. Mann, K. H.; Lazier, J. R. N. (2006). Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems: Biological-Physical Interactions in the Oceans. Blackwell Scientific Publications. ISBN 978-1-4051-1118-8.
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