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Metacyclops minutus (C LAUS , 1863) ‐ Population Dynamics and Life History Characteristics of a Rapidly Developing Copepod
Author(s) -
Maier Gerhard
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19920770309
Subject(s) - copepod , biology , instar , crustacean , reproduction , ecology , population , sex ratio , sexual dimorphism , zoology , larva , demography , sociology
The cyclopoid copepod Metacyclops minutus , a typical species of temporary pools, shows an unusual life cycle in a small pond in South Germany. The species is present from April/May to December during which period it forms at least 8 generations. Winter and early spring, when the pond is frozen to the bottom, are spent in the bottom mud as C4 or C5 instars. M. minutus shows an extraordinarily low degree of sex size dimorphism (female: male body length ratio) and no significant differences in. copepodite development time between the two sexes. This, together with the exceptionally short durations of embryonic‐ and postembryonic development enables reproduction to start without delay and rapid population growth after harsh conditions. By these means M. minutus is the first species to reproduce after periods of extremely low water level; later, when conditions in the pond become more stable, M. minutus is surpassed in numbers by a coexisting, filterfeeding and parthenogenetically reproducing cladoceran Moina brachiata .