Diapause, Population Dynamics, and the Large-Scale Dispersal of Zooplankton

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This study will examine the population dynamics of two dominant grazing copepod species, Calanoides carinatus and Eucalanus crassus, in the context of a coupled biological?physical model in the northwestern Indian Ocean. The model populations will include a diapausing fifth copepodite stage (CV) believed to have evolved as the result of a predictably intermittent food supply associated with upwelling caused by seasonal monsoonal forcing within the region. The primary objectives of this study are: 1) to determine the significance of ontogenetic migration and diapause of the copepods Calanoides carinatus and Eucalanus crassus for the success of these populations in the northwestern and equatorial Indian Ocean, with respect to timing of migration and onset and collapse of phytoplankton blooms associated with monsoonal upwelling; 2) to test hypotheses of mechanisms underlying the initiation and cessation of diapause in CV stage of C. carinatus and E. crassus; and 3) to ascertain the importance of physical advection in transporting populations to the Oman coast, Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman, and potentially more distant areas such as Mozambique and Java, using the Great Whirl off Somalia as the epicenter of distribution of C. carinatus and E. crassus.