Biology of Oithona similis (Copepoda: Cylopoida) in the Arctic, Antarctic and North Sea

相似剑水蚤（Oithona similis）属于桡足类圆足类（Copepoda Cyclopoida）。它在世界海洋的许多地方都非常丰富，应该是一个世界性的物种。本项目的目的是找出是否O。相似种是北极、南极和北海三个研究区的关键种，是一个世界性的物种。另一个目标是更好地了解其生命周期（或如果存在其生命周期的神秘物种），包括摄食习惯和发育阶段的世代时间，以及食物资源和温度在其生命周期中的综合作用。关于O.相似的主要目标是找出这些矛盾的原因，无论它们是由物种的巨大生物和/或遗传灵活性引起的，还是由存在几个神秘物种的事实引起的。这些物种可能是非常狭窄的，因为它们的形态相似或甚至相同。这将通过使用遗传学和形态学技术进行研究。然后，结果将决定进一步的程序。如果是世界性物种，将检查三个研究区域中是否存在形态上不同的种群。在另一种情况下，它将在单个隐蔽物种之间进行区分。

Oithona similis belongs to the Copepoda Cyclopoida. It is highly abundant throughout many parts of the world ocean and supposed to be a cosmopolitan species. Aim of this project is to find out whether O. similis, a key species in the three chosen study areas (Arctic, Antarctic and North Sea), is indeed a cosmopolitan species. A further goal is a better understanding of its life cycle (or in case there are cryptic species of their life cycles) including feeding habits and generation times of the developmental stages, as well as the combined role of food resources and temperature within its/their life cycle/s. The literature is full of contradictory information on all aspects of the biology of O. similis. The main goal will be to find the reasons for these contradictions, whether they are caused by the great biological and/or genetical flexibility of the species or by the fact that there are several cryptic species. Such species may be very stenoecious as indicated by their similar or even identical morphology. This will be studied by using genetical and morphological techniques. The results will then dictate the further procedure. In case of a cosmopolitan species it will be examined whether morphologically different populations exist within each of the three study areas. In the other case it will be differentiated between the single cryptic species.