Jhm. Kouwenberg et al., Biological weighting of ultraviolet (280-400 nm) induced mortality in marine zooplankton and fish. II. Calanus finmarchicus (Copepoda) eggs, MARINE BIOL, 134(2), 1999, pp. 285-293
The copepod Calanus finmarchicus Gunnerus is a key component of the plankto
nic food web in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. In this region, productiv
ity-determining biophysical interactions occur in the upper 0 to 30 m of th
e water column. The eggs and nauplii of C. finmarchicus are found in this l
ayer. Measurements of the diffuse attenuation coefficients for solar ultrav
iolet-B radiation (280 to 320 nm, UV-B) at various locations in this region
indicated maximum 10% depths (the depth to which 10% of the surface energy
penetrates) of 3 to 4 m at a wavelength of 310 nm. This represents a signi
ficant percentage of the summer mixed-layer water column: organisms residin
g in this layer are exposed to UV-B radiation. Laboratory experiments using
a Xenon-arc-lamp based solar simulator revealed that C. finmarchicus embry
os exposed to UV-B exhibited high wavelength-dependent mortality. The stron
gest effects occurred under exposures to wavelengths below 312 nm. A signif
icant percentage of nauplii hatched from eggs exposed to these wavelengths
exhibited malformations indicative of errors in pattern formation during em
bryogenesis. At the shorter wavelengths (<305 nm), UV-B-induced mortality w
as strongly dependent on cumulative exposure. The biological weighting func
tion (BWF) derived for UV-B-induced mortality in C. finmarchicus eggs is si
milar to that reported for naked DNA. This suggests that the UV-B-induced m
ortality effect on C. finmarchicus embryos is a direct result of DNA damage
. There was no evidence of a detrimental effect of ultraviolet-A radiation
(320 to 400 nm). Calculations based upon the BWF indicate that, under curre
nt noon surface irradiance, 50% of C. finmarchicus eggs located at or very
near (within 10 cm) the ocean surface will be dead after 2.5 h of exposure.
Under solar spectral irradiance simulating a 20% decrease in ozone layer t
hickness, this time drops to 2.2 h. These are first-order estimates based u
pon irradiance taken at a time of day during which the values would be maxi
mal. Nonetheless, they illustrate the relative changes in UV-B effects that
will result from ozone layer depletions expected over the coming decades.
It is also important to point out that variability in cloud cover, water qu
ality, and vertical distribution and displacement within the mixed layer, c
an all have a greater effect on the flux of UV-B radiation to which C. finm
archicus eggs are exposed than will ozone layer depletion at these latitude
s.