Copepod mortality induced by fluctuating levels of natural radiation simulating vertical water mixing

HORACIO ZAGARESE; WALTER CRAVERO,; PABLO GONZÁLEZ,; FERNANDO PEDROZO,

LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY

Año: 1998 vol. 43 p. 169 - 174

0024-3590

Abstrac&--The effect of fluctuating ultraviolet radiation levels on the copepod Boeckella gracilipes was investigated in Lake Escondido (Patagonia, Argentina). The animals were incubated either at fixed depths or rotating in in situ plankton wheels of different diameters. The observed mortality was significantly higher in rotating treatments. Static incubations can be used to predict the mortality of vertically moving B. gracilipes, providing that the doses of UVA and UVB are known. The results suggest that under moderate wind conditions, the plankton of shallow lakes are exposed to potentially damaginglevels of solar radiation, even in relatively turbid waters.