Use of oxygen microsensors to measure the respiration rates of five dominant copepods and Euphausia crystallorophias furcilia from the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica

Abstract

The individual respiration rates of five biomass-dominant copepods (Calanoides acutus, Rhincalanus gigas, Metridia gerlachei, Calanus propinquus and Paraeuchaeta antarctica), and Euphausia crystallorophias furcilia, from the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, were determined using a Clark-type oxygen microsensor affording high temporal resolution. Measurements were conducted on specimens collected from waters exhibiting a very narrow temperature range (-1.68 to -1.32 °C), at sites located between 71 and 75°S, during the summer (31 January - 20 March 2012). A short incubation time (3 h) was sufficient to reveal significant declines in dissolved oxygen concentrations by 12 - 45%. The respiration rates of the copepods and E. crystallorophias furcilia were within the ranges of previously reported values. The respiration rates of relatively large-bodied species were rather low, whereas the smaller species generally exhibited higher respiration rates. The data show that this simple microsensor technique is a useful high-resolution non-invasive means of investigating the metabolism of zooplankton in the Southern Ocean. The method could be used in other situations when such information is required.