Development and Lipid Composition of the Harpacticoid Copepod Nitocra Spinipes Reared on Different Diets

We reared the ha rpac t~co~d copepod Nitocra splnipes on d ~ e t s of bacteria, a d ~ a t o m , or a macroalga, evaluating survivorsh~p and growth in short-term (51 generation) experiments Llpid content of the copepods and t h e ~ r d ~ e t s was measured and used as an Index of nutrition Although growth, survivorship and l i p ~ d content of N sp~njpes were signif~cantly greater when fed the diatom whlch had the highest 11p1d content of the 3 d ~ e t s the copepod was able to develop from e g g to adult when fed a 11p1d-poor bacterial d ~ e t Furthermore, t h ~ s pecies was able to go through developmental molts w ~ t h out the addi t~on of food (6 individuals from a starved cohort of 25 made ~t to at least copepod~te stage I ) , suggesting the uptake of dissolved organic matter for growth This widespread es tuanne benthlc copepod apparently has the abllity to survlve on dlverse and nutritionally poor d ~ e t s , a qua l~ ty that is useful in a vanable, detritus-dominated environment