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Copepod carcasses in the western Bay of Bengal and associated ecology

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Abstract

Although a portion of all copepods in the natural environment are physiologically inactive or dead, there is little data on this aspect in Indian seas. Using the classical neutral red live staining technique, the dead percentage of copepods in the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) is determined for the first time in this study, which takes into account hydrography and zooplankton samples collected on April 2015 (Spring Intermonsoon [SIM]) from 6 inshore and 8 offshore locations in the western BoB. The offshore parts of the research area were infested with a persistent and extensive warm-core eddy/gyre during the sampling time, as demonstrated by satellite data of sea surface temperature, mean sea level anomaly, and surface currents. As a result, the mixed layer depth in the offshore zone was higher, whereas nutrients, chlorophyll a, and turbidity were significantly lower than inshore. Copepods dominated the zooplankton community (> 80%), with abundances ranging from 112 to 2580 No m−3 in the study area. Calanoids (particularly Paracalanidae) dominated nearshore waters (35–65%), whereas cyclopoids (notably Corycaeidae and Oncaeidae) dominated offshore (49–71%). There were 48 species of copepods identified in total, and all of them had dead individuals (carcasses). Offshore waters had a larger percentage of copepod carcasses (27–39%) than inshore seas (18–28%). The larger percentage of carcasses is possibly related to a higher top-down feeding pressure on cyclopoids in offshore waters due to extreme oligotrophy and the dominance of the microbial food web.

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Availability of data and materials

The data sets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request through the Director, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, or the Scientist-in-Charge, Regional Centre Kochi.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the facilities and support provided by the Director, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), India. We are grateful to all of our colleagues at the National Institute of Oceanography in India who assisted us with the fieldwork. This research was conducted as part of the Eastern Offshore Environmental Monitoring project, which was supported by ONGC, IPSHEM, Goa, India. The DST-INSPIRE Fellowship was provided to the first author by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) (IF120804). This is the NIO contribution 6860.

Funding

This study received funding from the ONGC, IPSHEM, Goa, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Kochi, India

    Arunpandi N., Jyothibabu R. & Jagadeesan L.

  2. CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Visakhapatnam, India

    Jagadeesan L.

  3. Department of Zoology, St. Stephen’s College, Pathanapuram, Kerala, India

    Lekshmi S., Surya S. & Biju A

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  1. Arunpandi N.
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Contributions

AN: conceptualisation, investigation, writing—original draft; funding acquisition; project administration; JR: conceptualisation, investigation; visualisation, formal analysis; supervision and funding acquisition; JL: conceptualisation, investigation, visualisation, formal analysis; LS: investigation, visualization, formal analysis; SS: investigation; visualization; BA: investigation; visualisation.

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Correspondence to Jyothibabu R..

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N., A., R., J., L., J. et al. Copepod carcasses in the western Bay of Bengal and associated ecology. Environ Monit Assess 194, 137 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09748-x

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