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Zooplankton body composition
Author(s) -
Kiørboe Thomas
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2013.58.5.1843
Subject(s) - zooplankton , plankton , biology , composition (language) , gelatinous zooplankton , taxon , predator avoidance , allometry , predation , ecology , branchiopoda , zoology , predator , cladocera , philosophy , linguistics
I compiled literature on zooplankton body composition, from protozoans to gelatinous plankton, and report allometric relations and average body composition. Zooplankton segregate into gelatinous and non‐gelatinous forms, with few intermediate taxa (chaetognaths, polychaetes, and pteropods). In most groups body composition is size independent. Exceptions are protozoans, chaetognaths, and pteropods, where larger individuals become increasingly watery. I speculate about the dichotomy in body composition and argue that differences in feeding mechanisms and predator avoidance strategies favor either a watery or a condensed body form, and that in the intermediate taxa the moderately elevated water content is related to buoyancy control and ambush feeding.