An examination of the potential effects of food limitation on the ultraviolet radiation (UVR) tolerance of Diaptomus minutus

• 1 A series of field and laboratory experiments was performed to test the possible influence of food limitation on UVR tolerance in the calanoid copepod Diaptomusminutus.
• 2 Food‐limited animals incubated at 0.5 m in a clear‐water lake for over three days showed no evidence for increased mortality compared to food‐replete animals when exposed to UVR.
• 3 Animals exposed to artificial UVR in the laboratory showed high mortality. There was no evidence that feeding improved UVR tolerance.
• 4 The results of these experiments show that UVR tolerance is not affected by a short‐term lack of energy or a lack of essential nutrients. However, effects of non‐nutritive dietary components such as carotenoids and mycosporine‐like amino acids cannot be excluded.