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Report on the presence of Acartia tonsa Dana (Copepoda)

in the harbour of Dunkirk (France) and its geographical
distribution in Europe

Article  in  Journal of Plankton Research · January 1981

DOI: 10.1093/plankt/3.2.255 · Source: OAI

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Journal of Plankton Research Volume 3 Number 2 1981

Report on the presence of Acartia tonsa Dana (Copepoda) in the

harbour of Dunkirk (France) and its geographical distribution in
Europe.
J.M.Brylinski
Institut de Biologie Maritime et Rigionale de Wimereux - B.P. 41 62930
Wimereux, France
(Received February 1980; accepted November 1980)

Abstract. Acartia tonsa is an important copepod in the zooplankton of the harbour of Dunkirk. The
author completes the morphological description and draws a map of the European places in which the
bibliography mentions the presence of the species. The reported sites, which are of an estuarine type,
show a salinity less than 33°/oo and a higher temperature than the neighbouring off-shore waters.
The addition of A. tonsa to the European fauna is considered as permanent.

Introduction
In the wet docks of the harbour of Dunkirk, studies carried out on the
zooplankton show the presence of four species of copepods of the genus Acartia
(Calanoida) : A. clausi and A. discaudata, from the Arostratae subgroup, and A.
tonsa and A. bifilosa, from the Rostratae subgroup (Steuer, 1915).
A. clausi alone, and to a lesser extent A. discaudata, are currently found in the
Channel (Digby, 1950 - Razouls, 1963 - Brylinski, 1975 - Hecq, 1976) and in the
southern part of the North Sea (Brylinski, 1973 - Lefevre, 1977). A. bifilosa can
only be found in brackish waters (Ackefors, 1969 -Eriksson, 1973 - Depauw, 1969
- Polk-Daro, 1972 - Brylinski, 1979).
Usually mentioned as a coastal species of the West Atlantic and Indopacific
oceans (Steuer, 1915 -Wilson, 1932), Acartia tonsa has never been recorded in the
Strait of Dover. A note by Remy (1927) reports this species for the first time on
European shores in the channel that connects Caen to the sea, where it represents
the most important crustacean of the summer plankton. The existence of A. ton-
sa in this particular and geographically extremely limited biotope has been con-
firmed by Lafon et al. (1955). Since Remy's observation, Acartia tonsa has been
found on several occasions in European waters (Figure 1): coastal waters of Ger-
many (Klie, 1933 - Kunz, 1935); the Zuidersee and other brackish locality of the
Netherlands (Redeke, 1934); the gulf of Finland (Smirnov, 1935); Denmark
(Jespersen, 1949); the British coastal waters of Southampton (Conover, 1957),
and more recently, in the sluice dock of Ostend (Polk, 1977).
The Site
The whole of the wet docks in Dunkirk cover approximative^ 3,80 km2. The level
of the waters is kept high by the admission of seawater through sluice-gates at
high tides. A large channel which gathers a proportion of the fresh waters of the

© IRL Press Limited, 1 FaJconberg Court. London Wl V 5FC, U.K.

255
J.M.Brylinsld

Acartim tonsm

S0

1 REMY . 1927
2 KLIE . 1933
3 REDEKE . 1934
4 KUNZ . 1935
5 SMIRNOV . 1936
6 JESPERSEN . 1949
7 CONOVER . 1957
8 POLK , 1977
9 BRYLINSKI . 1979

Fig. 1. Geographical distribution of Acortia tonsa (Dana) in European waters.

region comes out in the Western part. The salinity values between 30°/oo to
33°/oo are lower by 2 to 4°/oo than those in the neighbouring North Sea. This
low salinity enabled some typical species in the neritic zooplankton, such as the
copepods Acartia bifilosa and Eurytemora hirundoides, and the cladoceran
Podon polyphemoides, to propagate (Brylinski, 1979). The study area is sub-
jected directly to the effluents of a thermal power station of 500 MW, and the
waters are permanently subject to an increase in temperature of about 3° to 4°C
compared to the waters outside the harbour. The average temperatures vary bet-
ween 8° to 22°C.
Results
Description of A. tonsa
The determination has been confirmed after the works of Remy (1927), Esterly
(1924) and Giesbrecht (1982). As the general description of the individuals cor-
responds to the description given by these authors, it appeared to us useful to
complete the description of the fifth pair of thoracic legs of the male, (Figure 2):
- The lamellate process Q.p.) of the penultimate segment of the right appendage

256
Presence of Acartia tonsa in Europe

Fig. 2. Structure of the fifth legs of the Acartia of Dunkirk, a: A. clausi, b. A. tonsa, c: A.
discaudata, d: A. bifilosa. c.f.: curved "finger", c.n.: curved needle, d.t.: distal tooth, 1.: lamella,
l.p.: lamellar process, p.t.: proximal tooth, s.: setae, sp.: spines, 3: third article of left leg.

carries on each side, proximal and distal, a small tooth (p.t. and d.t.) which is
perceived with difficulty. These teeth were not described by Giesbrecht (1892 - pi.
30 - fig. 34) nor Remy (1927), and Esterly (1924) only mentions one of them.
These teeth also exist in the three other species of Acartia found in Dunkirk, on
which they are indeed quite visible. The distal tooth is the more completely
developed one.
- The third segment (3) of the left appendage carries at its extremity a long and
curved needle (c.n.). It also carries on its inner side a curved "finger" (c.f.) fring-
ed with a thin lamella (1.) directed towards the front part of the animal. As it is ar-
ticulated, this "finger" process might be considered to be the real terminal seg-
ment of the appendage and to constitute part of a pseudochela together with the
curved needle. While was poorly described by Esterly (1924) and Giesbrecht
(1892) probably because it was seen in profile. However Remy (1927) seems to
have realised the structure of this "finger" process.
- At the basis of this "finger", the third segment carries a row of long spines
(sp.), as well as a great number of very thin setae (s.) which were also observed in
the three other species (Figure 2).

257
J.M.Brylinski

Abundance of A. tonsa in Dunkirk

In the wet docks of Dunkirk, the genus Acartia is dominant among the copepods
during the greater part of the year with a maximum of more than 80% in
November and December (Figure 3). The number of A. tonsa was very low or
non-existent from January to July 1977, then increases above the number of A.
clausi at the end of October and beginninR of November. This species then
becomes the most important among the copepods, with 37% of their total. In
1978, A. tonsa developed intensively as early as the month of May, and during
the next two months became more abundant than its congeneric species with
more than 500 adults per 10 m3. At all seasons, 50 to 100% of the females carry
spermatophores, which suggests the vitality of the species in Dunkirk.

A. discMud*1m A. bitilosm

Fig. 3. Percentage of the four species of Acartia in the harbour of Dunkirk.

Discussion
Temperature is the factor that controls the geographical distribution of A. tonsa
in the world (Conover, 1956). The reproduction of this species is indeed very low
under 10°C (Jeffries, 1962) and its development is limited to the tropical and sub-
tropical areas, or the waters subject to the influence of warm currents all round
the earth. On the East Coast of the U.S.A., A. clausi prevails in the Gulf of the
Maine (44° N) and is progressively replaced further south by A. tonsa (Bowman,
1961). All European localities which have been examined show that, when this
species is found in high latitudes, it remains confined to warmer estuarine con-
ditions. On the other hand, in North American estuaries, an alternation of species
tightly linked to the annual temperature cycle exists (Conover, 1956 - Jeffries,
1962): A. tonsa dominates in summer and autumn in warm waters, and A. clausi
in winter and spring when the waters are colder. In the Zuidersee, Redeke (1934)
observes a comparable phenomenon: A. bifilosa, which dominates in winter and
spring, is replaced by A. tonsa in summer and autumn. In Dunkirk, the seasonal
dominance of A. tonsa, whose population is peculiar to the dock, was marked
by an increase in its relative importance among the other Acartia, from August to
September 1977. This importance remains limited because the autochthonous
populations of A. clausi are regularly renewed and enriched by the outside con-
tributions from the North Sea.

258
Presence of Acartia tonsa In Europe

This extremely coastal localization of European sites and the frequent coex-
istence of A. tonsa with A. bifilosa indicate moreover that there is a relation bet-
ween the freshening phenomenon observed in these biotopes and the geographical
distribution of A. tonsa (Redeke, 1934 - Conover, 1957 - Brylinski, 1979). A. ton-
sa is absent from the Channel off the coast of Caen, and in the North Sea off the
coast of Dunkirk where the salinity is always greater than 33°/oo, a value which
is only exceptionally reached in the harbour. In Dunkirk, the survival of A. tonsa
and the success of its development are dependent on the maintenance of the
temperature at a relatively high level compared to the off-shore waters of the
area, and are also dependent on the maintenance of the salinity at a relatively low
level, especially at low temperatures. Although it was absent or rare in September
1977, A. tonsa was abundant in spring 1978 at the same temperatures but for
lower salinities.
It appears that the hydrological characteristics of the European areas settled by
A. tonsa often represent ecological limits for this species. It may indeed totally
disappear from the plankton during a period of the year which may vary in
length. This copepod is likely to remain in the environment from year to year by
the production of resting eggs (dormancy), a phenomenon described by Zillioux
and Gonzales (1972) for the species.
Conclusion
The first mention of A. tonsa in European waters is relatively recent (Figure 1). It
is still possible that this copepod has been present in inlet waters "since evertime"
and that no suitable environments were sampled until 1927, or this species has
been confused with A. bifilosa. It is a fact that Redeke (1934) has noticed A. ton-
sa a posteriori in older plankton samples, and thinks that this copepod has made
its appearance in Zuiderzee before 1916 but after 1912. Following Remy's
hypothesis (1927), possibly this copepod has been transported among the fouling
covering the hull of ships crossing the oceans or in the bilge water tankers. The
expansion of the traffic since the beginning of the century has certainly increased
the probabilities of transportation. At the same time, the development of coastal
industrial activities enabled the creation of heated, brackish areas in estuaries,
fjords, and harbours, which are more or less closed, promoting the survival and
the growth of this species.
The systematical search for such sites and the study of their plankton should
enable to further addition to knowledge of the expansion of this species in
European waters. The acquisition of A. tonsa to the European fauna can be con-
sidered as permanent and is very important in the ecology of some coastal sites.
Acknowledgements
This work has been partially supported by "Electricite de France" (Etudes et
Recherches). Contract n° 16 286 E.31.D.99.
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