Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-27-1987
Abstract
Examination of harpacticoid copepod morphology was conducted to determine whether morphological resemblance provides a reasonable index of habltat utilization and movement. Discriminant analysis was used to explore the relationship between body form and habitat utilization for copepod species collected from 3 subhabitats within seagrass beds in Tampa Bay, Florida. To examine the accuracy of our procedure the discriminant function derived for Tarnpa Bay copepods was applied to copepods collected in worldwide studies. Three morphological characteristics - ratio of the length of Pereopod 1 first endopod segment to the remaining endopod segments, area of the cephalosome, and length of the first antennule - significantly contributed to variation in habitat utilization by identifiable groups. Habitat utilization suggested from the literature corresponded well to that predicted by the discriminant function derived for Tampa Bay harpacticoids. Our findings will be useful to suggest which copepods should (1) be associated with vegetation (2) display active migration and (3) be linked to sediment processes.
Rights Information
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Citation / Publisher Attribution
Marine Ecology - Progress Series, v. 35, p. 59-64.
Inter-Research Science Center makes the archives of its journals available as a service to the scientific community. All articles published more than 5 years ago may be accessed freely.
Link to the publisher website: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v35/
Scholar Commons Citation
Bell, Susan S.; Walters, Keith; and Hall, Margaret O., "Habitat Utilization by Harpacticoid Copepods: A Morphometric Approach" (1987). Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications. 14.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/bin_facpub/14
