The jet off Point Arena, California: its role in aspects of secondary production in the copepod Eucalanus californicus Johnson

In July 1988, females were actively laying eggs and also had a sac of stored lipid. Present food concentration was the factor governing egg production. The size of the lipid sac was also positively correlated with egg production, suggesting that lipid was not being used for oogeneis. Such a life history strategy, in which egg laying and lipid storage are proceeding concurrently in females, has not been described before. Temperature affinities of E. californicus apparently result in maximized abundance, egg production, and lipid sequestration at temperatures <13°C. In the Point Arena region, this results in nearshore portion of the population inhabiting surface layers and showing potential for very high rates of secondary production. The jet acts to transport E. californicus from the nearshore zone into its offshore habitat on a regular basis. Eddies may be the mechanism by which E. californicus is returned to the nearshore zone. -from Authors