Invited speakers:
Jeffrey Runge (Gulf of Maine Research Institute, USA)
Josefin Titelman (University of Oslo, Norway)
In order to understand the functioning of marine ecosystems and predict their future variability under a changing climate, enhancing our knowledge of zooplankton responses to environmental variability at an individual level becomes critical. Individual responses can include altered physiological rates, changes in behaviour, and changes in distribution and age structure. All of these features can directly influence population dynamics and, ultimately, ecosystem dynamics.
In this context the session aims at exploring the responses of zooplankton to a variety of key factors related to their habitat, e.g. temperature, oxygen, pH, quantity and quality of food, and predation pressure. We particularly encourage contributions that assess questions such as:
- The differences in responses among individuals of the same population
- The level of plasticity of the response
- The potential for adaptation to a new condition
- Feedback mechanisms
