Taxonomic Composition and Grazing Impact of Calanoid Copepods in Coastal Waters Near Nuclear Power Plants in Northern Taiwan

Zoological Studies 37(4): 330-339 (1998) Taxonomic Composition and Grazing Impact of Calanoid Copepods in Coastal Waters near Nuclear Power Plants in Northern Taiwan 1 2 Chong-Kim Wong , Jiang-Shiou Hwang ,* and Qing-Chao Chen" 1Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China 21nstitute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan 202, R.o.C. 3South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica, Guangzhou, China (Accepted August 5, 1998) Chong-Kim Wong, Jiang-Shiou Hwang and Qing-Chao Chen (1998) Taxonomic composition and grazing impact of calanoid copepods in coastal waters near nuclear power plants in northern Taiwan. Zoological Studies 37(4): 330-339. This study was carried out in August 1996 to study the taxonomic composition and grazing impact of calanoid copepods in coastal waters at 8 sampling stations outside Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2 on the northern tip of Taiwan. Thermal pollution was observed at station 3 outside Nuclear Power Plant 2 where surface water temperature reached 30.0 cC. At each sampling station, the abundance and species composition of calanoid copepods were analyzed; the gut fluorescence method was used to estimate in situ ingestion rates and clearance rates. Thirty-seven species of calanoid cope pods were identified. The abundance and species composition of calanoid copepods varied among sampling stations. Acrocalanus gracilis, comprising 30%-90% of the numerical abundance, strongly dominated the calanoid copepod commu nity in the area during the study period. Variability of ingestion rates and clearance rates for a single species was high among the sampling stations. Despite its relatively small size and low clearance rate, A. gracilis was the most important grazer because of its numerical abundance. Grazing impact, estimated as the fraction of chlorophyll removed from 1 rn" of water by the calanoid copepod assemblage ranged from 0.05% to 11%, suggesting that the grazing pressure of calanoid copepods on phytoplankton in the near shore waters outside Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2 was minor. There was no evidence to suggest that the slightly elevated surface water temperature had affected the community structure or grazing impact of calanoid copepods at station 3. Key words: Calanoid copepods, Taxonomic composition, Grazing impact. Discharge of heated water from power plants of herbivorous zooplankton (Deason 1980) and into shallow coastal waters can have harmful ef change the efficiency with which phytoplankton is fects on aquatic organisms (Roessler and Zieman harvested. Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2 are lo 1969, Jones and Randall 1973, Jokiel and Coles cated on the northern coast of Taiwan. The water 1974, Johannes 1975). There are 3 nuclear power mass outside the nuclear power plants represents plants in Taiwan. In southern Taiwan, thermal a region where water along the edge of the pollution is believed to be the cause of coral Kuroshio Current mixes with water from the Taiwan bleaching near the outlet of Nuclear Power Plant 3 Strait and the East China Sea. The Kuroshio Edge during the summer (Fang 1989). To the north, Exchange Processes (KEEP) project, launched in input of excess heat to the coastal environment has 1989 to study the oceanography of northern and been implicated in the presence of deformed fish eastern Taiwan, has produced important informa near the outlet of Nuclear Power Plant 2. Warm tion on phytoplankton distribution and production water from power plants can increase algal growth, (Chen 1995, Gong et al. 1996), but data on zoop speed up the process of eutrophication, and cause lankton grazing, which are essential to investiga changes in species composition. At the same time, tions of trophic interactions and secondary produc warmer temperatures may affect the feeding rates tion, are still lacking. Input of warm water from the *To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. 330 Wong et al. - Grazing Impact of Copepods 331 nuclear power plants may be an important factor near the bottom were measured with a Seabird affecting the local community structure and trophic CTD. A rosette sampler with Niskin bottles was interactions. The present research rep~esents a used to collect seawater samples from 2 to 5 m preliminary attempt to study the taxonomic compo below the surface. Chlorophyll concentrations in sition and grazing impact of calanoid copepods in the seawater samples were measured fluorome nearshore waters outside Nuclear Power Plants 1 trically using the method described in Parsons et and 2. The gut fluorescence method, developed by al. (1984). Mackas and Bohrer (1976), was used to estimate Calanoid cope pods were collected within the calanoid copepod ingestion of phytoplankton. As upper 5 m of each station by horizontal tows using sumptions and methodological artifacts of the gut a 4.5-m-long conical net with a 1-m mouth diameter fluorescence method have been extensively re and 0.33-mm mesh. All collections were made be viewed (e.g., Dam and Peterson 1988, Morales tween 1100 and 2130 h. Animals collected from and Harris 1990, Peterson et al. 1990). We used the 1st net tow were preserved in 5% formalde the gut fluorescence method mostly because it hyde. In the laboratory, calanoid copepods were permits easy collection of data needed to estimate enumerated by species under a stereomicroscope. the in situ grazing rate of herbivorouszooplankton. Animals captured in the 2nd net tow were frozen immediately with liquid nitrogen and stored in a freezer at -20°C for later measurement of gut pig MATERIALS AND METHODS ment content. On returning to the laboratory, 5th stage copepodites and adult females of individual The study was conducted on board Ocean species were sorted rapidly under dim light. Sorted Research Vessel II during cruises 252 and 253 animals were rinsed in filtered seawater to remove from 27 to 31 Aug. 1996. Data were collected from adhering debris. Gut pigment contents of some 8 sampling stations in shallow coastal waters out small and rare species were not measured. De side Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2 in northern pending on abundance and body size, 5 to 30 in Taiwan. Locations of the stations are shown in dividual animals were placed in small glass tubes Fig. 1. Water depths at the stations ranged from containing 6 ml of 90% analytical acetone and ex 22 to 94 m (Table 1). At each sampling station, tracted overnight in a dark refrigerator. Samples temperature and salinity at the surface (2-5 m) and were not homogenized because preliminary experi- China East China Sea Taiwan 25°15' ---1-----+----1---,"""'.---- Strait Pacific \ Ocean South China Sea Fig. 1. Map of the South China Sea and East £hina Sea showing location of nuclear power plants (NPP1 and NPP2) and sampling stations on the northern tip of Taiwan. 332 Zoological Studies 37(4): 330-339 (1998) ments showed no difference in gut pigment fluores copepod') over time was assumed to be exponen cence between samples ground with a glass rod tial and described by the equation: and unground samples, even for some of the larger -kt Gt Goe ; species. Because individual variability in gut pig = ment fluorescence was great, 3 replicate samples where Gt is the gut pigment content at time t, Go is were processed for each species when animal the initial gut pigment content, and k is the gut abundance in the net sample was sufficient. Fluo evacuation rate constant in min'. Assumptions rescence of acetone extracts before and after acidi related to the measurement of gut evacuation rates fication with 1 drop of 10% HCI was measured with have been reviewed by Morales and Harris (1990). a Turner Model 112 fluorometer. The equations of Ingestion rates were estimated as: Dagg and Wyman (1983) were used to calculate I = kG; the amount of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll a equivalent weight of phaeopigment in the guts. No where I is the ingestion rate in ng Chi a copepod' correction for background fluorescence was ap rnln' and G is gut pigment content in ng Chi a plied because fluorescence was nearly undetect copepod'. Clearance rates, defined as the volume able in some samples. Phaeopigment values were of water swept clear of food particles per unit time, corrected for pigment destruction during gut pas were calculated from: sage using an estimated average loss of 33% F = 1/ C; (Dam and Peterson 1988). Final gut pigment con tent (G) was expressed as nanograms chlorophyll where F is the clearance rate in ml copepod' min" a equivalent per copepod (ng Chi a copepod') and C is the chlorophyll a concentration in the Measurements of gut evacuation rate were upper 2-5 m of the water column in ng Chi a rnl'. performed on females and 5th stage copepodites Daily clearance rates, expressed in ml copepod' of Calanus sinicus and Eucalanus subcrassus col day', can be estimated by extrapolating F over 24 lected from Tolo Harbour (22°27'N, 114°17'E), h. The estimates are considered conservative be Hong Kong. Gut evacuation experiments carried cause the extrapolation does not take into account out in northern Taiwan were not successful be diel differences in grazing rates. Grazing impact by cause the abundance of copepods of any single a cope pod species (T), was calculated from the taxon in any single net tow was too low for re relationship: peated sub-sampling. Copepods were collected T = A F; near the surface at night and transferred to 0.45 urn-filtered seawater at 24-26 °C. Subsamples of where A is the abundance (copepod rn") and T, in cope pods were taken at 1-10 min intervals for 40 units of ml m'3 cay", is the volume of water swept min.

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