Predation risk suppresses mating success and offspring production in the coastal marine copepod, Eurytemora herdmani

2012/02/29 by Rachel S. Lasley-Rasher, Rachel Lasley-Rasher, Jeannette Yen · 29 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Apex predator #Biology #Copepod #Crustacean #Demography #Ecology #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine and coastal plant biology #Marine and fisheries research #Mating #Population #Predation #Predator #Spermatophore

paper · pdf · doi:10.4319/lo.2012.57.2.0433

published in Limnology and Oceanography 57(2), 433-440 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2012/02/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We investigated the effects of a common mysid predator, Neomysis americana on the mating success of an estuarine copepod, Eurytemora herdmani . The presence of a mysid predator, or only a predator cue, reduced copulation frequency and spermatophore transfer success of E. herdmani . and led to a substantial decrease in E. herdmani nauplius production. Thus, mysid predators can influence copepod population growth through nonconsumptive processes by reducing the frequency and success of mating events. This highlights the need to look beyond population‐level demographic factors (i.e., sex ratio and population density) and consider community‐level ecological factors (such as predation risk) when modeling population growth rates of prey species critical to marine food webs.

Citations

• Cascading Trophic Interactions and Lake Productivity

Cited by

• Trait-based approaches to zooplankton communities
• Antipredator behaviours of a spider mite in response to cues of dangerous and harmless predators. [europepmc]
• Lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus is sensitive to variations in predation risk and food availability. [europepmc]
• Transgenerational exposure to marine heatwaves ameliorates the lethal effect on tropical copepods regardless of predation stress. [europepmc]

Related

• Predation impact of Acartiella sinensis, an introduced predatory copepod in the San Francisco Estuary, USA
• Direct and indirect effects of copepod grazers on community structure
• Optimal outbreeding is shaped during larval life history in the splash pool copepod Tigriopus californicus
• Seasonal trophic controls drive population variability in a foundational marine copepod
• Predator-induced diet vertical migration in a planktonic copepod