Temora longicornis

Temora longicornis is a species of copepod in the family Temoridae. It is found in marine environments on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Temora longicornis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Hexanauplia
Order: Calanoida
Family: Temoridae
Genus: Temora
Species:
T. longicornis
Binomial name
Temora longicornis
Synonyms[1]
  • Cyclops longicornis Muller, 1785
  • Diaptomus longicaudatus Lubbock, 1857
  • Halitemora finmarchica Giesbrecht, 1881
  • Halitemora longicornis (Müller O.F., 1785)
  • Temora finmarchica Baird, 1850

Distribution and habitat

In North America this copepod occurs between Cape Cod and Florida. In some years it is the commonest calanoid in the winter and spring in the mid-Atlantic region, and sometimes also in summer and autumn in Long Island Sound. It tends to be less abundant in estuaries than in open stretches of coast.[2]

Ecology

Temora longicornis makes daily vertical migrations, spending the day near the seabed and the night near the surface.[2] Males can swim faster than females, and 3D tracking has shown that males can follow a detectable trail left by females. Sometimes they follow it in the wrong direction.[3]

This copepod is an omnivore; diatoms are a major part of the diet and phytoplankton is also grazed.[2] This copepod is preyed on heavily by the sand lance in the northwestern Atlantic.[2] It also forms an important part of the diet of the herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the southern Baltic Sea in the autumn, at which time the copepods are particularly plentiful.[4]

This species' eggs float near the surface before they hatch and the developing larvae move deeper into the water column at each successive moult. The species has been shown to sometimes produce diapausing eggs in the summer months of June and July in Long Island Sound. When this happens, it results in a reduction in the quantity of zooplankton at that time of year. The eggs are buried in the sediment for a species-specific length of time and then hatch, moving into the water column as nauplius larvae as they develop. In the North Sea, dormancy takes place in winter.[5]

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References
  1. T. Chad Walter (2015). Walter TC, Boxshall G (eds.). "Temora longicornis (Müller O.F., 1785)". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. Johnson, William S.; Allen, Dennis M. (2012). Zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts: A Guide to Their Identification and Ecology. JHU Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4214-0618-3.
  3. Doall, Michael H.; Colin, Sean P.; Strickler, J. Rudi; Yen, Jeannette (1998). "Locating a mate in 3D: the case of Temora longicornis". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 353 (1369): 681–689. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0234. PMC 1692248.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Casini, Michele; Cardinale, Massimiliano; Arrheni, Fredrik. "Feeding preferences of herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the southern Baltic Sea."
  5. Gibson, R.N.; Barnes, Margaret (2002). Oceanography and Marine Biology. CRC Press. pp. 261–262. ISBN 978-0-203-50172-6.
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