Estimated, in situ, rates of egg production for the copepod centropages typicus (Krøyer) in the new york bight

Centropages typicus (Krøyer) and Pseudocalanus sp. are the two predominant copepods in the Continental Shelf waters immediately south of Long Island, New York. The estimated, in situ, rate of egg production for Centropages typicus ranged from 5 to 230 eggs female^?1 day^?1 during this study. Variability was partly attributed to seasonal variation in water temperature and partly to variations in the physiological condition of individual females. It could not be shown that the ability to produce eggs varied seasonally due to factors related to food. Egg production by Pseudocalamus sp. is probably from 1–10 eggs female^?1 day^?1. The two reproductive behaviours result in average abundances of adults that are approximately the same, although the peaks are at different times of the year, indicating that Centropages typicus has a higher mortality between the egg and adult stages than Pseudocalanus sp.