Effect of ultraviolet radiation on clearance rate of planktonic copepods with different photoprotective strategies

LASPOUMADERES, CECILIA; BASTIDAS NAVARRO, MARCELA; SOUZA, MARÍA S.; MODENUTTI, BEATRIZ; BALSEIRO, ESTEBAN

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Año: 2019 vol. 104 p. 34 - 44

1434-2944

We studied two populations of Boeckella gracilipes and two populations of B. gibbosa that inhabit mountain lakes from North-Patagonian Andes withdifferent optical properties. We combined field and laboratory experiments withthe aim of linking different UVR defences with the effects of UVR on clearancerate (CR). The copepod populations differed in photoprotective compounds(carotenoids and mycosporine-like amino acids, MAAs) and antioxidant enzymes(glutathione S-transferase, GST). These variations were related to altitude,dissolved organic carbon content and the optical features of the inhabitedlakes. Laboratory experiments showed a decrease in the CR in all populationsexposed to UVR. Consistently, the long-term field experiment showed a negativeimpact of UVR on CR. We conclude that UVR exposure affects feeding, however, themagnitude of this negative effect depends on the exposure intensity and thephotoprotective mechanisms employed by zooplankton.