Zooplankton community composition and copepod grazing on the West Florida Shelf in relation to blooms of Karenia brevis

Blooms of the toxin producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis occur routinely on the West Florida Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient supplies are thought to play a large role in the formation and maintenance of these blooms. The role of top-down control has been less well studied, but grazing, or the lack thereof, on these toxic species may also enhance the formation of large biomass blooms in this region. Zooplankton community structure and copepod species composition were analyzed from samples collected on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) during a NOAA funded ECOHAB regional Karenia Nutrient Dynamics project during October 2007–2010. In 2008 there was no statistical difference in the abundance of zooplankton at bloom and non-bloom stations, however in 2009 there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the abundance of zooplankton at stations with Karenia present. To investigate copepod ingestion rates in relation to K. brevis, shipboard and laboratory experiments of the single label method of 14C labeled phytoplankton culture, and time course ingestion experiments with isolated copepods were performed. Calculated ingestion rates suggest that the copepod species Centropages velificatus, and Acartia tonsa ingested K. brevis, however rates were variable among collection sites and K. brevis strains. Parvocalanus crassirostris did not ingest K. brevis in any of the experiments.