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Biol Bull 65: 402-436. (December 1933)
© 1933 Marine Biological Laboratory
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DIURNAL MIGRATION OF PLANKTON IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND ITS CORRELATION WITH CHANGES IN SUBMARINE IRRADIATION

GEORGE L. CLARKE 1

1 From the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and the Laboratory of General Physiology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1. Observations on the vertical distribution of copepods and measurements of the submarine irradiation were made in the Gulf of Maine during 12- to 48-hour periods to procure information on the importance of light in controlling diurnal migration.

2. Five closing nets were towed simultaneously at different depths from a single vertical cable. The method devised for allowing the nets to be open only during the 10-minute towing period is described.

3. The sources of error involved in the work at sea and in the sampling of the catch in the laboratory are discussed. The methods used allow special dependence to be placed upon differences found among the hauls within each series.

4. The general vertical distribution of the three species studied was as follows: Centropages typicus inhabited the stratum of water above the thermocline (10 to 20 meters), Calanus finmarchicus was irregularly distributed, and Metridia lucens occurred below the thermocline. In each case the individuals present in the upper part of the range were found to have a slightly smaller average length than those occurring at deeper levels.

5. The adult females of Metridia exhibited the most marked diurnal migration, the level of maximum abundance rising in the afternoon and during the night and falling in the morning. These movements were found to coincide to a considerable extent with changes in submarine irradiation.

6. The changes in the vertical distribution of the other groups of copepods were slight or quite irregular. In some cases, however, there was a definite tendency for the maximum to occur at greater depths at noon than at other times.

7. This investigation confirms the idea that light is the most important factor controlling diurnal migration. In addition, the observations are shown to have a bearing on various of the theories regarding the manner in which light exerts its effect.




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J. H. Cohen and R. B. Forward Jr.
Spectral Sensitivity of Vertically Migrating Marine Copepods
Biol. Bull., December 1, 2002; 203(3): 307 - 314.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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