High dispersal potential has maintained long-term population stability in the North Atlantic copepod Calanus finmarchicus.

ABSTRACT: The cool-water copepod Calanus finmarchicus is a key species in North Atlantic marine ecosystems since it represents an important food resource for the developmental stages of several fish of major economic value. Over the last 40 years, however, data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey have highlighted a 70 per cent reduction in C. finmarchicus biomass, coupled with a gradual northward shift in the species's distribution, which have both been linked with climate change. To determine the potential for C. finmarchicus to track changes in habitat availability and maintain stable effective population sizes, we have assessed levels of gene flow and dispersal in current populations, as well as using a coalescent approach together with palaeodistribution modelling to elucidate the histo

SUBMITTER: Provan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674349 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature