Impact of oil discharges on light- and temperature-adapted behaviour in the marine calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus - Annual report 2009

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->

Project title: Impact of oil discharges on light- and temperature-adapted behaviour in the marine calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus

Project director:                                                                 Jenssen, Bjørn Munro, NTNU (Dept. Biology)

Post-doc/ scholar:                                                               Miljeteig, Cecilie

Project duration:                                                                 27.04.09 – 26.04.12

Technical contact person in Statoil:                                      Frost, Tone Karin

Division head:                                                                     Mostad, Helle Britt

Project number:                                                                  6156

Object

The calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus is considered a key species in the North Atlantic ecosystem. C. finmarchicus generally perform diel vertical migrations, staying deeper in the water during day than during night. This activity is assumed to be at least partly guided by environmental light cues. Organic pollutants may interfere with important behavioural traits, such as migration. The C. finmarchicus population along the Norwegian coast and in the Barents Sea is exposed to varying concentrations of oil components. Furthermore, organisms in their natural environment are exposed to several different types of stressors (temperature, nutritional stress, predation risk) in addition to the exposure to chemical pollution. The objective of the current project is to investigate the phototactic behaviour of C. finmarchicus and the effects of oil exposure on this behavioural response, with exposure to oil alone and in combination with additional stressors, such as temperature, nutritional status and predator cues. 

Status:

Since the start of the project in the end of April, the work has been focused towards developing a novel experimental setup. One of the major challenges was finding a method for detecting the movements of the C. finmarchicus in darkness and low-light stimuli without disturbing the experiment with visible light. This methodology is now in place and is based on use of near infrared light and a near infrared sensitive camera with high resolution (HD). The light stimuli (narrow-banded LEDs) will be controlled by pulsing and use of grey filters. The control mechanisms of the light stimuli are currently being worked on and will be ready for use within a few weeks. The process of developing the experimental setup has been a long process, but is now in the finalising stages and we expect to start with experiments in the next few months. The PhD scholar has also finished 25% of the required coursework.

Publications: