Neocalanus is a genus of marine copepods.[1] They are a dominant component of the open water ecosystems of the northern Pacific Ocean.[2] Neocalanus are large copepods, reaching body lengths (i.e., prosome length) of more than 8 mm (0.31 in) in Neocalanus plumchrus.[3]

Neocalanus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Copepoda
Order: Calanoida
Family: Calanidae
Genus: Neocalanus
Sars, 1925
Type species
Neocalanus gracilis
(Dana, 1852)

Species edit

There are six species:[1]

Life cycle edit

Neocalanus flemingeri edit

Neocalanus flemingeri is predominantly annual, with a significant fraction of biennials in some areas. The largest females reach prosome length of about 5 mm (0.20 in); males are smaller.[4]

Trophic interactions edit

Neocalanus are important food items for many predators, such as North Pacific right whale[5] and least auklet.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Walter, T. Chad; Boxshall, G. (2015). "Neocalanus Sars G.O., 1925". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ^ Conover, R. J. (1988). "Comparative life histories in the genera Calanus and Neocalanus in high latitudes of the northern hemisphere". Hydrobiologia. 167–168 (1): 127–142. doi:10.1007/BF00026299. S2CID 30898474.
  3. ^ Kobari, Toru; Tadokoro, Kazuaki; Shiomoto, Akihiro; Hashimoto, Shinji (2003). "Geographical variations in prosome length and body weight of Neocalanus copepods in the North Pacific". Journal of Oceanography. 59 (1): 3–10. doi:10.1023/A:1022895802468. S2CID 56445802.
  4. ^ Kobari, T.; Ikeda, T. (2001). "Life cycle of Neocalanus flemingeri (Crustacea: Copepoda) in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific, with notes on its regional variations". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 209: 243–255. Bibcode:2001MEPS..209..243K. doi:10.3354/meps209243.
  5. ^ National Marine Fisheries Service: Review of the Status of the Right Whales in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans (2006). (PDF). Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  6. ^ Dorresteijn, I.; Kitaysky, A.S.; Barger, C.; Benowitz-Fredericks, Z.M.; Byrd, G.V.; Shultz, M.; Young, R. (2012). "Climate affects food availability to planktivorous least auklets Aethia pusilla through physical processes in the southeastern Bering Sea". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 454: 207–220. Bibcode:2012MEPS..454..207D. doi:10.3354/meps09372.